Tbilisi “deeply concerned” Kyiv using “extreme form” of escalation of diplomatic relations


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Front News Georgia
The Georgian foreign office on Tuesday expressed its concerns by Kyiv’s latest move to summon the Georgian ambassador and send him to Tbilisi for consultations over the currently imprisoned former president Mikheil Saakashvili, saying the action represented an “extreme form of escalation of diplomatic relations”, and was “unfortunate” Kyiv was taking this step against a “friendly state and people”.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday tweeted Russia was “killing” Saakashvili, who currently holds Ukrainian citizenship, “at the hands” of the Georgian government, following the former president’s engagement in a trial hearing over him via a video link during the day.
In his address Saakashvili, who looked very thin, accused the government of damaging his health.
The Georgian foreign office said the reason given by the Ukrainian authorities behind their decision had made the move “particularly incomprehensible”.
It said the May ruling by the European Court of Human Rights – which rejected Saakashvili’s transfer abroad on health grounds – had “put an end” to the claims over Saakashvilli’s ill-treatment in prison and “once again confirmed the highest standards of protection of his rights by the state”.
“Against the background of such developments, the decision by the Ukrainian authorities significantly harms the strategic relations of the two countries and represents a direct interference in the domestic affairs of a sovereign state”, the foreign office said.
The body expressed hopes Ukraine would “reconsider” its decision and make efforts to “further develop historically friendly relations between the two countries”.
“Georgia’s support for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine and the Ukrainian people is unwavering. Since the beginning of the war [with Russia], Georgia has been providing political and humanitarian support to Ukraine both at the bilateral level and in various international formats”, the Georgian ministry said.
It also stressed Georgian diplomats had refused to leave Kyiv after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The body highlighted ambassador Giorgi Zakarashvili had conveyed the official position of Tbilisi to the Ukrainian side during the meeting held on Tuesday in Kyiv, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.
Saakashvili was arrested in Tbilisi in October 2021 on his clandestine return after eight years, and is now serving his six-year-term for abuse of power while in office.
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