The appointment of ex-President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili to the post of head of the executive committee for reforms under the President of Ukraine casts a shadow on Georgian-Ukrainian relations. This was stated by the chairman of the Georgian parliament Archil Talakvadze.

“This personnel decision was very incomprehensible, and it undoubtedly casts a shadow on the political cooperation between our countries,” the politician said.

Talakvadze recalled that official Tbilisi turned to the Ukrainian parliament, which then removed from the agenda the issue of appointing Saakashvili to the post of deputy prime minister. However, Vladimir Zelensky still provided the ex-president of Georgia with a position, making him the head of the advisory board.

“And although Tbilisi received a comment that the Ukrainian government has the right to independently decide which posts to appoint its own citizens, this citizen of another country daily intervenes in Georgia’s domestic policy, plans to destabilize and is engaged in destruction,” Talakvadze quoted Interfax as saying.

“I wonder what position the Ukrainian side will have in this case,” he added.

Archil Talakvadze is confident that in the coming months, Ukrainian society will see “who was actually appointed in the person of Saakashvili” to chair the reform committee.

"The sediment will remain"

Recall: on May 7, the President of Ukraine appointed Mikhail Saakashvili as head of the executive committee of the National Reform Council. The corresponding decree was published on the website of the Ukrainian leader.

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

Initially, the administration planned that the ex-president of Georgia and the former head of the Odessa Regional State Administration (OGA) will take the post of vice prime minister for reform. Saakashvili himself announced this at the end of April on his Facebook page.

“It is a great honor for me to receive an offer from President Zelensky to become Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine for reforms,” Saakashvili wrote then.

  • Verkhovna Rada meeting
  • Reuters
  • © Stringer

Subsequently, this news was confirmed by the deputy head of the party Zelensky "Servant of the people" Yevgeny Kravchuk. However, the final decision on the appointment of Saakashvili was to be taken by the Rada. 

Moreover, even before the vote, it was clear that Saakashvili’s candidacy would not be able to get the required number of votes of parliamentarians. This was stated by the leader of the parliamentary faction of the Party of the Servant of the People David Arahamia on the air of the political talk show “Freedom of Speech of Savik Shuster”. As the politician explained, it is impossible to approve Saakashvili in a government post only with the votes of deputies from the party “Servant of the People” in conditions of low attendance of the Rada due to the epidemic of coronavirus infection. Therefore, Arahamia suggested either waiting for the moment when the Servant of the People faction could mobilize more people, or agree on support with other factions. 

However, already on April 30, it became clear that these plans would not be implemented and that Saakashvili would receive another position. This was then also reported to reporters by Arahamia.

“Saakashvili has held lengthy negotiations with the president over the past few days, and they have found a different format in which they will work,” he said.

The decision of the Ukrainian president provoked a negative reaction from official Tbilisi. On May 8, Georgia recalled its ambassador from Kiev for consultations, as stated by the head of the Georgian Foreign Ministry, David Zalkaliani. He explained that the reason for this step was "the appointment as a strategic partner for the position of a person who has been convicted and wanted in Georgia." At the same time, the minister explained that the Georgian side is not considering the severance of diplomatic relations with Ukraine.

Commenting on the appointment of Saakashvili, Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia announced Tbilisi’s intention to develop a tactic of protection against possible adventures of a runaway politician.

“We recalled the ambassador only to consult on the topic“ How to protect our relations from adventurers, ”Gaharia said, adding that the Georgian authorities did not question the“ brotherhood ”and“ strategic partnership ”of Georgia and Ukraine.

Commenting on the decision of Tbilisi in an interview with the Ukrainian edition of LB.ua, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba said that Georgian-Ukrainian relations are “so special” that they cannot depend on just one person. However, “no state of the world” can indicate where to appoint a Ukrainian citizen.

“If there are any drastic steps on the part of our Georgian partners, well, we will survive, and then we will restore everything that has been lost,” the minister emphasized.

  • The Rose Revolution, Tbilisi, 2003
  • Reuters
  • © David Mdzinarishvili

According to experts, the appointment of Mikheil Saakashvili as the current Ukrainian authorities will leave a deep imprint on Georgian-Ukrainian relations, although politicians and diplomats on both sides are trying to soften the situation.

“The appointment of Saakashvili in Ukraine is a challenge for the ruling Georgian party, Georgian Dream, this is an uncomfortable and unpleasant incident for Tbilisi. Earlier, the Georgian authorities put up with Kiev’s refusal to extradite Saakashvili to their homeland, but they are unlikely to be able to come to terms with the latest decision of the Ukrainian side, ”Vladimir Zharikhin, deputy director of the Institute of CIS Countries, said in an interview with RT.

According to him, Zelensky was forced to make this decision under the pressure of the western partners of Ukraine, but he had to understand that after that the relations with Georgia would no longer be the same.

“Saakashvili continues to intrigue against the current Georgian authorities and remains the leader of the Georgian opposition,” Zharikhin explained.

A similar point of view is shared by the director of the Kiev Center for Political Studies and Conflictology, Mikhail Pogrebinsky.

“Undoubtedly, this appointment will leave a scar on the relations between Georgia and Ukraine, since a significant part of the Georgian elites hates Saakashvili and this cannot but cast a shadow on the dialogue with Zelensky’s team. However, formally, relations between countries will remain the same. I’m sure the USA will calm Georgia, although the precipitate will remain, ”the expert explained in a comment to RT.

“Conflict Man”

Recall: Mikheil Saakashvili took the chair of the Georgian president in 2004 as a result of mass anti-government protests known as the “Rose Revolution”. However, shortly before the end of his second term as head of state, a politician fled from Georgia to Europe. In 2014, several criminal proceedings were opened against him in the homeland on charges of abuse of power and embezzlement of public funds.

The new arena for the realization of Saakashvili’s political ambitions was Ukraine, where he arrived in 2015 at the invitation of his friend Petro Poroshenko. At the new place, the runaway politician quickly received Ukrainian citizenship, as well as the post of head of the Odessa Regional State Administration.

  • Arsen Avakov
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  • © Gleb Garanich

However, already in 2016, Saakashvili resigned, saying that he could not cope with corruption among local officials. The politician founded the Movement of New Forces party and announced that he was going to start the fight against corruption already at the national level, in the highest Ukrainian elite. He quickly ruined relations with Poroshenko and was expelled from Ukraine.

Saakashvili could return to the country and restore Ukrainian citizenship only after Petro Poroshenko was defeated in the elections, and Vladimir Zelensky became the new head of state. 

During one of his working trips, Vladimir Zelensky said that he expected results from Saakashvili’s work in the coming months.

“The results are about business deregulation and customs reform,” Zelensky said.

However, experts doubt that Saakashvili’s appointment is connected with his reforming abilities. As Vladimir Zharikhin noted, the late US Senator John McCain was the “political father” of Saakashvili. However, the Georgian politician remained connected with the republican circles, and now in the USA they want to use him to get dirt on a possible rival Donald Trump in the elections - former vice president Joe Biden, the expert believes.

“Zelensky tried to hold Saakashvili in the deputy prime minister, but the Verkhovna Rada opposed. Undoubtedly, this weakened Zelensky's position both in the party and in the country. Saakashvili’s appearance in the Ukrainian echelons of power has already brought discord to the ruling elite. His figure causes rejection among many in Kiev, including members of the Zelensky team, ”said Zharikhin.

So, even during the first Ukrainian “business trip”, Saakashvili had extremely strained relations with the permanent Interior Minister Arsen Avakov. According to Vladimir Zharikhin, this alone can create serious problems for the Zelensky team.

“The president tried to build a balance with Avakov, but because of the appointment of Saakashvili, a direct confrontation may begin between them. And do not forget that Avakov has enormous power resources, ”the expert recalled.

A similar point of view is shared by Mikhail Pogrebinsky.

“It was Avakov who played an important role in the fact that Saakashvili could not get the post of deputy prime minister. Saakashvili is a conflict person, so after some time, perhaps, we will observe the discord in the ruling elite of Ukraine, ”the expert predicted.