Ukraine tells Georgian ambassador to return to Tbilisi for consultations on settling Saakashvili situation

MOSCOW. July 4 (Interfax) - The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry summoned Georgian Ambassador Giorgi Zakarashvili on Tuesday morning to present him with a strong protest over the serious decline in the health state of Ukrainian citizen Mikheil Saakashvili, who is being held in prison in Georgia.

"The Georgian diplomat was told that such treatment of Saakashvili is absolutely unacceptable. Georgian authorities should stop humiliation of a Ukrainian citizen," Ukrainian media quoted the Foreign Ministry as saying in a statement on its website.

Kiev proposed to the Georgian ambassador that he return to Tbilisi for consultations to look for ways to resolve the situation, it said.

"The Ukrainian side emphasized its willingness to urgently discuss Mikheil Saakashvili's transfer to Ukraine for treatment and medical care," it said.

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky had earlier instructed the Foreign Ministry to summon the Georgian ambassador and declare him a protest over Saakashvili's continuing imprisonment. Zelensky also instructed the Foreign Ministry to tell the ambassador to leave Ukraine within 48 hours for consultations.

A video of Saakashvili's questioning was published on Monday, in which he looks utterly emaciated.

Saakashvili secretly arrived in Georgia on September 29, 2021 and was detained in Tbilisi on October 1. Shortly afterwards, he ended up in a prison in the city of Rustavi, where he went on a hunger strike. On November 8, 2021, without the consent of his relatives or lawyers, Saakashvili was transferred from Rustavi prison to a prison infirmary in Tbilisi's Gldani neighborhood. On November 20, 2021, Saakashvili was transferred to a military hospital in Gori. He was then transferred to the Vivamedi civilian clinic in Tbilisi on May 12, 2022 where he is currently staying.

Several criminal cases were opened against Saakashvili in Georgia. He has called his detention unlawful and says the charges brought against him are falsified.