You're reading: Margvelashvili: Saakashvili should not have given up Georgian citizenship

Former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili voluntarily gave up Georgian citizenship and left the country, which he should not have done, Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili said.

“When Mr Saakashvili gave up his citizenship, I said it was very sad because a person who had been president twice should have Georgian citizenship. He should not have left the country that had entrusted him with the role of president and commander-in-chief twice,” Margvelashvili said while meeting with representatives of the Georgian media accredited in Georgia on July 27.

Saakashvili gave up Georgian citizenship on December 4, 2015. “Keeping a Georgian passport, I am doomed to imprisonment in Georgia. It’s a temporary situation, but nevertheless it’s harsh reality for me,” he said.

Saakashvili received Ukrainian citizenship under Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko’s decree from May 30, 2015. On the same day Poroshenko appointed Saakashvili as head of the Odesa regional state administration.

On November 7, 2016, Saakashvili announced his resignation as Odesa region governor because he was “tired of constant deceit and corruption,” including on the part of authorities in Kyiv. On November 9, 2016, Poroshenko signed a decree dismissing Saakashvili.

On July 26 the Ukrainian Migration Service announced that Poroshenko has signed a decree depriving Saakashvili of Ukrainian citizenship.

The Ukrainian presidential administration said the termination of Saakashvili’s Ukrainian citizenship is connected to the false information provided by him when he obtained Ukrainian citizenship.

Saakashvili said earlier on Facebook that he is in the United States. He said he would seek a lawful right to return to Ukraine.

Several criminal cases against Saakashvili are being probed in Georgia. He is charged with embezzlement of state funds and abuse of office.