The Georgian Foreign Ministry expresses “deep concern” at the Ukrainian authorities’ decision to demand that the Georgian ambassador leave within 48 hours for consultations in the capital.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia reacted to the earlier statement of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in which he asked the Georgian authorities to transfer Mikheil Saakashvili to Ukraine and ordered the summoning of the Georgian Ambassador to Ukraine.
The MFA says: “This action represents an extreme form of escalation of diplomatic relations” and says it is “regrettable” that official Kyiv is taking this step “against a friendly state and people”.
The Foreign Ministry’s statement reads reads that “the reasons given by the Ukrainian authorities make this decision particularly incomprehensible”, citing the Strasbourg court ruling which “put an end to speculation about the health of the convicted Mikheil Saakashvili” and “confirmed the highest standards of protection of Mikheil Saakashvili’s rights by the state”.
“Against the background of such developments, the decision of the Ukrainian authorities significantly harms the strategic relations of the two countries and constitutes a direct interference in the internal affairs of a sovereign state,” the statement says, expressing the hope that official Kyiv “will reconsider its decision and make efforts to further develop the historically friendly relations between the two countries”.
Recalling Georgia’s support for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine and its people, both bilaterally and in the international arena, the MFA notes that Georgia’s diplomatic mission in Ukraine has continued to function even in the most difficult moments, during the ongoing war.
The Foreign Ministry says that the Georgian Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Ukraine has already conveyed Tbilisi’s official position to the Ukrainian side during the meeting held today in Kyiv at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine. The statement reads that “Georgia at this stage refrains from any additional reaction in response to the steps taken by Ukraine”.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday called on the Georgian authorities to hand over Saakashvili to Ukraine for the “necessary treatment and care” and instructed the Ukrainian foreign office to summon the Georgian Ambassador to Ukraine, to “express our strong protest” and to ask him to leave Ukraine within 48 hours to hold consultations with his capital.
