UKRAINE-CRISIS/SAAKASHVILI-GEORGIA REAX Georgia disappointed by its former president Saakashvili becoming regional governor in Ukraine

Record ID: 150439

  • Title: UKRAINE-CRISIS/SAAKASHVILI-GEORGIA REAX Georgia disappointed by its former president Saakashvili becoming regional governor in Ukraine
  • Date: 4th June 2015
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (English) LEADER OF UNITED NATIONAL MOVEMENT PARTY, GIGA BOKERIA, SAYING: "President Saakashvili considers the situation in Ukraine to be decisive not only to that country, but the whole region, which includes his country Georgia. And he has his own personal emotional connection with Ukraine, that is a factor, I believe so. He believes and I believe too, that t
  • Embargoed: 19th June 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Georgia
  • Country: Georgia
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVAASPH6RF0EBTCCELKKNTE22YVP
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: PLEASE NOTE: THE SPEAKER IN THE FIRST AND THE SECOND SOUNDBITES IS GIGA BOKERIA
    Georgia's top officials criticised the decision by ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili's to renounce his Georgian citizenship in order to take office of the governor of Ukraine's Odessa region.
    However, his former colleagues and members of his United National Movement party supported the decision and said the future of the post-Soviet republics largely depends on developments in Ukraine and the outcome of its struggle against Russian aggression.
    "President Saakashvili considers the situation in Ukraine to be decisive not only to that country, but the whole region, which includes his country Georgia. And he has his own personal emotional connection with Ukraine, that is a factor, I believe so. He believes and I believe too, that the fate, the future of whole region depends on the transformation in Ukraine and its struggles against Putin's aggression. I think that is the motive. As for connection with Georgia or Georgian politics, I think his ability to participate in Georgian politics was already limited severely by political prosecution that is going on," said one of the leaders of the United National Movement party, Giga Bokeria.
    He added that the current Georgian authorities limited Saakashvili's ability to take part in the country's political life by launching criminal investigation against him and demanding his extradition.
    "His new job as I understand it will take a lot of energy and focus, that by itself makes the difference. Other than that as I said, the political prosecution and his pre-trial detention, formal pre-trial detention already made it impossible for him to freely be political figure in Georgia and he was not participating in day to day life of the party he created, our party," said Bokeria.
    Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko appointed former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili to be governor of Ukraine's southern Odessa region on Saturday (May 30), in a surprise move that is certain to raise hackles in Moscow. He also granted Saakashvili Ukrainian citizenship to facilitate the move.
    The security of the Black Sea city of Odessa and its surrounding region has become increasingly worrisome for Ukrainians since a separatist conflict broke out in eastern Ukraine following Russia's annexation of Crimea further along the coast.
    Saakashvili replaces Ihor Palytsia, a businessman who was appointed governor in May last year after more than 40 people, most of them pro-Russian sympathisers, died in a fire in the port city during a confrontation with pro-Western demonstrators.
    Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili called Saakashvili's decision to renounce his Georgian citizenship "an insult" to the country.
    "I would like to make a comment on the Georgian citizenship refusal and express my extremely negative attitude to it. Georgian President should not have refused from the citizenship of Georgia. By doing it he insulted our country and the institute of presidency and in my opinion values like one's citizenship are more important than career and I really do not understand his decision," Margvelashvili said.
    Defence Minister Tina Kidasheli said Saakashvili's decision showed that the former president did not share values important to most Georgians.
    "I can only say that by his yesterday's action he (Saakashvili) showed his devotion to his own country in the best possible way. And if anyone doubted anything about him (Saakashvili) now he could clearly see how devoted to his motherland its former president was, that for him values which are the most important to all of us such as our citizenship and service to our country do not exist," Kidasheli said.
    Saakashvili is widely credited with carrying out radical reforms in Georgia and cracking down on corruption during his term in office from 2004-2013.
    But the present Georgian leadership has accused him of abuse of power and has asked for his extradition. He denies any wrongdoing and says charges against him are politically motivated.
    Like Poroshenko, Saakashvili, whose country fought a brief war with Russia in August 2008, is a strong proponent of NATO and European Union membership for his native Georgia and for Ukraine.
    Poroshenko expressed confidence that Saaksahvili would bring discipline and carry out much-needed reforms in the region. "The people of Odessa should soon feel that their living standards have been raised," he said.
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