Lavrov hopes Ukrainian gov’t won’t act like Saakashvili

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has expressed hope that the current Ukrainian leadership will not act in the way Georgia’s former president Mikhail Saakashvili did in 2008, prior to the Russia-Georgia 2008 war. 

 

“I hope that even the current leadership of Ukraine won’t follow the path of Saakashvili,” Lavrov said at a press conference today. 

 

He stated that Saakashvili’s actions back in 2008 were pushed by the NATO Bucharest summit which gave a green light to the hopes of Georgia and Ukraine for the membership of the alliance. 

 

“Saakashvili got instantly excited, it’s not hard for him, and began aggressive military actions, bombing his own citizens and Russian peacekeepers. The Ukrainian leadership at the time showed more common sense and it did not follow the bad example,” Lavrov said.

 

Russia recognised two Georgian regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali as independent states after the 2008 war. Only Venezuela, Nikaragua, Nauru and Syria have joined Russia in its recognition so far, while the rest of the international community is unanimous that the regions are occupied by Russia.