Yesterday, former Georgian President, ex-governor of Odessa oblast Mikheil Saakashvili crossed into the territory of Ukraine from crossing point called “Shegin” with the help of his supporters.He was welcomed by a crowd of supporters, and so Saakashvili entered Ukraine.
As the representative of Ministry of Internal Affairs Artyom Shevchenko said in his statement to BBC Ukraine, “ Now, according to the consent of prosecutor’s office, all necessary investigation measures are taken in accordance with the Criminal Code provisions of relevant court decisions”.
“Nevertheless, considering the political influence of Saakashvili, even if he has violated the law on crossing the state border illegally, it is unlikely that Poroshenko government will dare to arrest him.” Middle East expert, Georgian political scientist Vasiliy Papav said this in his interview with Eurasia Diary.
“However, government authorities will have to react to this somehow in order not to look weak and vulnerable to the population,” Georgian expert said with certainty.
In his opinion, maybe Kiev may attempt to extradite Saakashvili to Georgia, as a result of which the crisis will move to Georgia. However, it is unlikely that Tbilisi will agree on this in pre-election situation.
“In any case, Saakashvili is now winner in the political arena, and the Ukrainian leadership has a few ways to solve this dilemma.”
Vasiliy Papav says that the fact is obvious- Saakashvili in a planned way realizes his plan to regain his Ukrainian citizenship, and to return the political arena from which he was expelled by the government.
“It is still hard to say which tactics he will choose. Currently, consultations are underway with various Ukrainian politicians who are opposing Poroshenko.”
In the end, expert also said that the former governor has already formed a new political agenda in Ukraine.
Natalia Gulieva
