Zelensky Offers Georgian Ex-president Saakashvili Deputy PM Seat
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has offered former Georgian leader Mikheil Saakashvili the seat of deputy prime minister in charge of reforms, says the report by the Novoe Vremya news website citing sources in Zelensky's party.
The above information was confirmed by the Spokesperson for the President's Office.
The proposal is currently being discussed.
Mikheil Saakashvili responded to the issue on his Facebook page.
"I am honored to receive President Zelensky's proposal to become Deputy Prime Minister in charge of reforms," he wrote in a Facebook post.
"I had a very informative and useful conversation with Prime Minister Shmyhal, during which we discussed all the issues related to my possible work in the government.
"Together with the President’s team, I am ready to work with all patriotic forces in the Ukrainian Parliament and other political forces to enable Ukraine to overcome today’s global economic crisis with the least loss and to deal with all challenges. I hope to be a reliable member of the team and help the Ukrainian people by doing something useful for them. I also hope that I will use my international experience to be the government's useful member, including in terms of communicating with international financial organizations to strengthen Ukraine's prestige and its integration into the international community, in order to primarily protect the Ukrainian national interests and contribute to the progress in the country", he wrote.
Saakashvili acquired Ukrainian citizenship in 2015. He was appointed the chairman of the Odesa Regional State Administration. He tendered his resignation in the autumn of 2016, and on July 26, 2017, President Petro Poroshenko stripped him of Ukrainian citizenship.
The law enforcement bodies charged him for receiving half a million dollars from Serhiy Kurchenko (a runaway Ukrainian businessman now based in Russia) in exchange for organizing protests.
In May 2019, Ukraine's new President Volodymyr Zelensky restored Saakashvili's Ukrainian citizenship.
By Ana Dumbadze