Ukraine is preparing a «tough reaction» to Georgia's treatment of Mikheil Saakashvili

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine has announced its intention to take a "tough reaction" to Georgia over the situation with Mikheil Saakashvili. This was announced by Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, noting that the Georgian ambassador will be summoned to the Foreign Ministry for a "tough conversation" and will be asked to return to his country.

"We believe that Georgia should stop mocking Mikheil Saakashvili and return him to us, as he is a citizen of Ukraine," Kuleba said.

The court hearing with Saakashvili's participation took place on July 3, where he participated online and demonstrated his situation in prison. After that, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy ordered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to summon the Georgian ambassador and express a strong protest, as well as to offer him to leave Ukraine within 48 hours for consultations with the Georgian government.

It should be noted that in 2018, the Tbilisi City Court issued two guilty verdicts against Saakashvili for abuse of office and organizing the attack. Despite this, before the 2021 local elections, Saakashvili secretly returned to Georgia and was detained in Tbilisi. He was charged with illegal border crossing, which is a serious crime in Georgia.

While in prison, Saakashvili went on hunger strike several times. He claims that he was arrested for political reasons. In April 2023, he published an article in Politico magazine, where he described the systematic use of physical and psychological torture against him, as well as his serious health problems, including poisoning.

Recently, the current President of Georgia, Salome Zurabishvili, suggested that Saakashvili be released from prison and subjected to forced electronic monitoring. She also noted that other forms of punishment for the politician are possible.