(Tbilisi) Tbilisi on Tuesday denounced an “escalation” after the decision of the Ukrainian authorities to temporarily dismiss the Georgian ambassador stationed in Kyiv in order to protest against the treatment inflicted on the imprisoned Georgian ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili, also a Ukrainian citizen.
The ambassador was summoned by Ukrainian diplomacy. “It (him) has been reported that this treatment of Mikheil Saakashvili is absolutely unacceptable,” the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.
“The Georgian government must stop torturing this Ukrainian citizen,” he added, while offering to transport the ex-president to Ukraine for “medical treatment”.
The former pro-Western president of Georgia (2004-2013), a pet peeve of the Russian authorities who in 2008 launched an armed invasion of this former Soviet republic which aspired to join NATO, was arrested on his return from exile in 2021. He is the main opposition figure to the current government, which opponents say is under pressure from Russia.
During a Monday court hearing in Tbilisi, Mr. Saakashvili, 55, appeared very emaciated, his face emaciated. Lifting his T-shirt, he revealed a chest with visible ribs and a hollow belly.
In Kyiv, President Zelensky then gave the Georgian ambassador 48 hours on Monday to return to Tbilisi and have consultations there on the fate of Mikheil Saakashvili.
“The world could see today once again how the Kremlin – at the hands of the current Georgian government – is killing Ukrainian citizen Mikheil Saakashvili,” Zelensky charged.
Kyiv’s decision “represents an extreme form of escalation in diplomatic relations”, reacted Georgian diplomacy, assuring that Georgia “respects the highest standards in terms of protecting the rights of Mikheil Saakashvili”.
Earlier, the leader of Georgia’s ruling “Georgian Dream” party, Irakli Kobakhidze, called the Ukrainian measure an “insult”.
Tbilisi “will continue to express its solidarity and support for Ukraine, a country at war”, added Georgian diplomacy, specifying that “since the beginning of the war, Georgia has provided political and humanitarian support to the Ukraine, both bilaterally and in various international forums”.
The Ukrainian authorities have repeatedly urged Georgia to authorize the transfer of Mr. Saakashvili to Ukraine or to a Western country to receive medical treatment there, without success.
Tuesday evening, dozens of demonstrators were gathered, at the call of the main Georgian opposition party, the United National Movement founded by Mr. Saakashvili, in front of the hospital to demand his release, noted an AFP journalist.
The European Union and the United States urge Tbilisi to respect the rights of the ex-president and to grant him appropriate medical treatment.
The Council of Europe considers Mr Saakashvili a “political prisoner” and the NGO Amnesty International has described his treatment as “apparent political revenge”.