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Thursday, April 18, 2024 | Back issues
Courthouse News Service Courthouse News Service

Saakashvili Seeks Return to Ukraine Despite Stateless Status

Mikhail Saakashvili, the former president of Georgia and a former governor in Ukraine, says he's not afraid to try and return to Ukraine even though his citizenship there has been withdrawn, making him stateless.

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Mikhail Saakashvili, the former president of Georgia and a former governor in Ukraine, says he's not afraid to try and return to Ukraine even though his citizenship there has been withdrawn, making him stateless.

Saakashvili said he will be at Poland's border with Ukraine on Sunday aiming to return home. However, he has no valid document, since his Ukrainian passport expired when Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko withdrew his citizenship in July for what Saakashvili says were political reasons.

Saakashvili said Friday he's a "stateless person" facing hostility from the leaders of Ukraine and Georgia but his choice is to "be brave" under the circumstances.

The president of Georgia from 2004-13, he was stripped of his Georgian citizenship in 2015 after he moved to Ukraine's Odessa region as Poroshenko's pick for its governor.

Categories / Government, International, Politics

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