Saakashvili denies rumors of sending reconciliation letter to Poroshenko
In an interview for Strana.ua, former Odessa governor Mikheil Saakashvili refuted the claims that he had written a letter to Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko with a peace offer.
Saakashvili says that he does not intend to come to a compromise with Poroshenko. “I will attack them more than ever,” he said when asked about the rumors of him coming to an agreement with Poroshenko.
The Ukrainian news outlet Insider reported earlier that Saakashvili had sent Poroshenko a letter asking for reconciliation. Insider claimed that Saakashvili sent the letter through the “EU ambassador”.
The news outlet claimed that Saakashvili’s attempts to reach an agreement with Poroshenko were related to his possible extradition to Georgia. Saakashvili is disputing the annulment of his Ukrainian citizenship in court, and faces possible extradition if the proceedings do not end in his favor. An Insider source suggested that the migration service may revise its decision not to deport the Georgian politician.
In a broadcast of the TV channel NewsOne on December 16, Saakashvili said that he does not accuse Poroshenko of assisting “the enemy”, and advised his own supporters to “maintain one side, and talk about it, even with him [Poroshenko]”.
In Ukraine, Saakashvili is the leader of the Movement of New Forces party, which advocates the impeachment of Poroshenko, and regularly organizes rallies. On Sunday December 17, another “march for impeachment” took place, which Saakashvili described as an “offensive march”.
On December 8, Saakashvili was arrested in Kyiv under charges of receiving funds from former president Viktor Yanukovych’s group to organize a coup in Ukraine.
The court did not place Saakashvili under house arrest as requested by the Prosecutor General’s Office. In court the politician said that he is a prisoner of war and a prisoner “of the Ukrainian oligarchy, Vladimir Putin and all the dirty forces that are destroying Ukraine”.