Former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, who has been deported from Ukraine to Poland, said Tuesday he would fight for regaining his Ukrainian citizenship.

"I was and I remain a Ukrainian politician... and I will restore my Ukrainian citizenship," Saakashvili told a press conference in Warsaw aired on his Facebook page.

Saakashvili, now a leader of the Ukrainian political party "Movement of New Forces," insisted that the move to deprive him of his Ukrainian citizenship was "against the legal norms."

Saakashvili, who served two terms as Georgian president from 2004 to 2013, acquired Ukrainian citizenship in May 2015 and was appointed governor of the southern Odessa region.

In July 2017, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko revoked Saakashvili's citizenship, following allegations that he had submitted false information while applying for his Ukrainian passport.

On Feb. 12, the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine deported Saakashvili to Poland, saying he has no legal rights to stay in Ukraine as his political asylum request was denied by the Ukrainian authorities.

Source:
courtesy of XINHUA NEWS AGENCY

by BruDirect.com

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