Jailed ex-Pres Saakashvili warns of further influx of Russian visitors as “Zelensky’s plan works”

Imprisoned former President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili, who held a public post in Ukraine before being arrested in Tbilisi last year, said on Tuesday that more Russian visitors were expected in Georgia, as the plan of the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky “has worked” and the EU had plans to cancel simplified visa procedures for Russian nationals amid their country’s ongoing aggression against Ukraine. 

“Zelensky’s plan has worked – the European Union is going to cancel the simplified visa regime with Russia. This means that many more tourists, banned from entering Europe, will come to Georgia as migrants under the guise of tourists”, -Saakashvili said on social media.

Saakashvili also said that after taking control of Kherson, Ukrainians would be able to “easily reintegrate” other occupied territories. 

The former President, who is currently serving his six-year term for abuse of authority while in office, chaired the Executive Committee of the Ukrainian National Reforms Council before being arrested in Tbilisi on October 1, after eight years in self-imposed political exile. 

Currently having no Georgian citizenship, Saakashvili says that he is “politically persecuted”.