Georgia’s currently imprisoned former president Mikheil Saakashvili on Tuesday thanked Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy for “finding time” for him amid Ukraine’s war with Russia and the forthcoming NATO Vilnius Summit, and demanding his extradition to Ukraine.
“President Zelenskyy has shown the standard of humanity. I remain the chairman of the Reform Council under the President of Ukraine and, of course, a proud citizen of a heroic country. I expect good news from the frontline in the coming days”, Saakashvili posted from the Vivamedi civilian clinic in Tbilisi, where he has been receiving treatment since May 2022.
Zelensakyy on Monday claimed Russia was “killing” Mikheil Saakashvili, the currently imprisoned third president of Georgia who now holds Ukrainian citizenship, “at the hands” of the Georgian government, adding he had tasked his country’s foreign office to summon the Georgian ambassador and send to Tbilisi “within 48 hours” for consultations over handover of the former official.
Irakli Kobakhidze, the head of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Tuesday said Zelenskyy’s claims were “insulting”, adding Tbilisi was maintaining “one-sided friendship” with Kyiv amid “unfounded allegations”.
He added since his arrest the former official had been engaged in “self-harm”, with the support of his family, refusing to eat properly to escape justice, adding the ECHR ruling in May, which rejected Saakashvili’s transfer abroad on health grounds, had confirmed the stance.