Political analysts: Mikhail Saakashvili voices unreal demands to Georgian authorities

Mikhail Saakashvili demanded to restore his citizenship of Georgia in order to be able to participate in the autumn parliamentary elections. However, he does not have an opportunity to return to the country, believe political analysts interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot".

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on January 5, the court found Saakashvili guilty of exceeding his authority when pardoning convicts for killing the businessman Sandro Girgvliani and sentenced him to three years of imprisonment.

Mikhail Saakashvili lost his citizenship of Georgia when he was granted the Ukrainian citizenship. On July 1, he demanded from Giorgi Margvelashvili to restore his citizenship, the "Rutavi-2" TV Channel reports.

Mikhail Saakashvili addressed the leader of Georgia on the air in a harsh and insulting manner and called him a "coward." With the loss of the Georgian citizenship, Mikhail Saakashvili cannot participate in the politics of the republic and run for elections, he pointed out.

On July 2, on the air of the same TV Channel, Giorgi Abashishvili, the chief for the Georgian presidential administration, announced that Giorgi Margvelashvili decided not to meet the Mikhail Saakashvili's demand.

Georgian political analysts doubt the possibility of obtaining Georgian citizenship by Mikhail Saakashvili and the reality of his return to the country.

"Mikhail Saakashvili will return to Georgia if he feels that is safe for him, but it is not so," the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was told by Nodar Kharshiladze, an analyst from the Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies.

The Mikhail Saakashvili's statement is of political nature, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was told by Kakha Gogolashvili, the head of the Institute for Strategic and International Studies. "Mikhail Saakashvili understands perfectly well that after he has voiced his statement in such a manner, no one will return the citizenship of Georgia to him. This is a great PR step to be visible and not get lost from the field of public view, as long as there are no conditions for his return to the country," the political analyst said.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on July 5, 2018 at 06:24 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.