Fugitive Saakashvili Claims No Plans to Give Up Georgian Citizenship

Former President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili, who is currently wanted in his home country, has stated that he has no intentions of giving up his Georgian citizenship despite becoming a Ukrainian citizen and serving as governor of Odesa.

TBILISI (Sputnik) – On Saturday, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko granted Saakashvili Ukrainian citizenship and signed a decree making the former Georgian leader the governor of the city of Odesa. If a citizen of Georgia obtains citizenship of another country, they automatically lose their Georgian citizenship under Georgian law.

"The Ukrainian legislation permits a two-year period until you renounce the other citizenship. In Ukraine you can be the citizen of Ukraine and not renounce the citizenship of the other country," Saakashvili told Rustavi-2 television.

Saakashvili served as Georgia's president from 2004 to 2013, his tenure was criticized as authoritarian. He was barred from running for president again in 2013, and left for the United States, later moving to Ukraine and becoming Poroshenko's non-staff aide.

In 2014, a Georgian court charged Saakashvili with abuse of power and misappropriation of public funds. Georgia has repeatedly asked Ukraine to extradite him.

Saakashvili is not the only foreigner Poroshenko has invited to govern Ukraine. In December 2014, the Ukrainian president admitted having granted Ukrainian citizenship to US, Georgian and Lithuanian nationals.