Georgia Concerned about Future Relations with Ukraine

The Georgian leader said there was a lack of trust between the countries because of the possible appointment of Mikheil Saakashvili. Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili expressed concern over the fate of relations between Tbilisi and Kiev due to the possible appointment of Mikhail Saakashvili as deputy prime minister of Ukraine. The statement of the head of state was published on the official website on April 28. "Georgia and Ukraine are close strategic partners. Our cooperation is based on centuries-old friendship between peoples and respect for our common interests and aspirations. Despite this, our partner country considers a candidate for a high political position who has been found guilty by all three courts in Georgia. It should be noted that this caused well-founded alarm and reaction of our leadership and society," the statement of Zurabishvili reads. She emphasized that she was aware of the inadmissibility to interfere in the internal affairs and personnel policy of another state, however, she considered the appointment of Saakashvili "unacceptable and incomprehensible". "It is impossible to imagine what Georgia or Ukraine will get from the fact that the paths diverge and unity weakens. <...> I also can’t imagine how one person can be so important that Ukraine should put our long interstate relations on the scales, ignore our institutions and insult our public," the Georgian leader emphasized. She regrets that the current situation has already led to a lack of trust between countries. "I hope that the interests of our countries will turn out to be more valuable than close political ambitions and calculations," Zurabishvili summed up. Earlier, Saakashvili said that President Vladimir Zelensky invited him to become a negotiator with the IMF. Georgia has reacted critically to this information. The Prime Minister of Georgia Georgy Gakharia said that he considers unacceptable the possibility of appointing Saakashvili to the post of Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine and threatened to call the ambassador from Kiev.