PM Kvirikashvili: Georgia and Ukraine Discuss Saakashvili’s Issue Within Legal Frames

While commenting on the possible extradition of Georgia’s ex-President Mikheil Saakashvili from Ukraine to Georgia, the Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili said the two countries have always discussed this issue within the legal framework.

“I have heard numerous speculations and conspiracy theories regarding the matter. Believe me, we have a lot of issues with our friend Ukraine to discuss and such ones are not examined at the political level,” Kvirikashvili said.

Saakashvili was arrested in Kyiv on Friday on allegations of assisting and covering criminal organizations, also for getting funding from oligarch Serhiy Kurchenko, an ally of ex-President Viktor Yanukovych, to finance rallies against the authorities and plot a coup d’etat.

He was released from the courtroom on Monday afternoon, after the judge stated he was innocent.

Ukraine’s Prosecutor General Yuri Lutsenko says they will appeal the court’s decision.

The ex-Georgian President claims his arrest was politically motivated and ordered by Poroshenko.

He is also wanted in Georgia for various charges.

By Thea Morrison