President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky has appointed Mikhail Saakashvili as head of the executive committee of the National Council for Reforms of Ukraine. The corresponding decree is published on the website of the Ukrainian leader. In addition, venture investor Alexander Olshansky was appointed to the post of deputy chairman of the committee.

“I sincerely congratulate Mikhail Nikolozovich on the new responsible challenge. I believe that he will be able to give impetus to the National Reform Council and will help in the implementation of important changes in the life of the country, ”said Vladimir Zelensky.

Also, a decree of the Ukrainian leader introduced a number of changes to the provisions on the activities of the National Council of Reforms and its executive committee.

Member of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs, Crimean Senator Sergei Tsekov believes that the appointment of Saakashvili will ultimately result in scandal.

“You just need to attach it somewhere. I think they just ask for him. He has an extremely negative attitude in Ukraine, including in the “Servant of the people” faction. He is not a checkpoint, they do not vote for him. Without the deputy corps, they came up with this structure and appointed it as the main reformer, ”the senator expressed an opinion in an interview with RT.

At the same time, Anton Morozov, a member of the State Duma’s Committee on Foreign Affairs, recalled the extensive relations of the former president of Georgia with the United States.

“This once again shows that the current Kiev regime is not independent, but acts on orders from Washington. Saakashvilli is a famous figure used by the USA. He is a puppet. It is periodically introduced into the right places. I think that in this case this appointment was not without Washington’s participation. Nevertheless, taking into account Saakashvili’s personal data, one can’t expect anything good for Ukrainians from this appointment, ”Morozov said.

On April 30, the chairman of the pro-presidential faction "Servant of the People" David Arahamia reported that Saakashvili and Zelensky held lengthy consultations on the format of cooperation. On May 4, the ex-president of Georgia himself emphasized that Zelensky would announce his appointment in the coming days.

At the same time, Advisor to the Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Chikovani, commenting on the information on Saakashvili’s return to the political life of Ukraine, said that he was a politician of the past who would not bring any positive results to Kiev. And the vice-speaker of the Georgian parliament of Georgia Gia Volsky even says that the appointment of Saakashvili to any senior position could bring serious problems to Ukraine and Zelensky.

In turn, the press secretary of the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov in an interview with RTVi also called Saakashvili’s participation in the political life of Ukraine a “bad omen”.

Recall that in 2015, the president of the country, Petro Poroshenko, gave Saakashvili Ukrainian citizenship and appointed the head of the Odessa Regional State Administration. A year later, the politician left his post, because, according to him, he was not allowed to fight corruption. Following this, Saakashvili founded the Movement of New Forces party, announcing that he was going to start the fight against corruption in the ranks of the Ukrainian elite. Against this background, serious disagreements began between Poroshenko and Saakashvili, as a result of which the latter was stripped of citizenship.  

“A big show awaits us”

According to RT, a source in the office of the President of Ukraine, Vladimir Zelensky believes that Saakashvili will help him deal with the influence of oligarch Igor Kolomoisky and Interior Minister Arsen Avakov. According to him, the ex-governor of the Odessa region performed a similar task under Petro Poroshenko - then he helped fire Arseniy Yatsenyuk from the post of prime minister.

  • The fifth president of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko and Mikhail Saakashvili, who was appointed in 2015 as governor of the Odessa region
  • © REUTERS / Ukrainian Presidential Press Service / Mykola Lazarenko

“They wanted to appoint Saakashvili as deputy prime minister, but there were not enough votes. Zelensky refused to ask deputies to support the appointment. He feared that various political parties would ask for concessions and appoint their people to certain posts. Therefore, a position was found for Saakashvili that does not require parliamentary approval. Naturally, Saakashvili will have no authority. But no one expects any reforms from him, ”he explained.

Meanwhile, an RT source in the Batkivshchyna party believes that Zelensky was forced to find a place for Saakashvili for some reason.

“Information about the negotiations got into the media, then it became known that the appointment was canceled. Zelensky has no experience in politics, so he could not pass the decision through the Verkhovna Rada. I think that he makes the mistake of Petro Poroshenko. After some time, Saakashvili will begin to criticize the president’s work, and what will Zelensky do then? To deprive Saakashvili of citizenship? Forced to expel abroad? In general, a big show awaits us, ”the deputy said.

In turn, the source of RT in the party "Servant of the People" noted that Vladimir Zelensky is preparing for the local elections, which will be held in the fall.

“The president’s rating is falling, he cannot fulfill his election promises. Moreover, Ukraine already directly says that the country's leadership is rather weak, criticism is heard from all sides. Therefore, Saakashvili is needed here, who will arrange a show and publicly support Zelensky. Former Georgian president is good at making shows. And it doesn’t matter that this activity has no results. But this is not the main thing. The main thing is to increase the rating before the election, ”the source said.