Saakashvili may become deputy prime minister of Ukraine

On April 24, a vote may be held in the Ukrainian parliament on the appointment of the former president of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili as deputy prime minister of the government.

The initiative comes from President Vladimir Zelensky. His party, “Servant of the People,” controls a majority in parliament.

Saakashvili himself said that it is “a great honor to receive an offer from the president.”

He added that he had a “very meaningful and useful conversation” with Prime Minister Denis Shmygal, where “they discussed all issues related to possible work in the government.”

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He is going to present on Friday in the Rada his program of urgent changes and his participation in the work of the government “with specific developments that have developed both outside Ukraine and during my work in Ukraine.”

In his account in the FB, Mikheil Saakashvili wrote:

“I will present in the Verkhovna Rada my proposals on the necessary changes as part of the government program of the Shmygal government with specific developments that have developed both outside Ukraine and during my work in Ukraine, based on both positive and negative experiences.

I hope to be a reliable member of the team and come in handy for the people of Ukraine by doing something useful for people.

I also hope to use my international experience in order to be useful to members of the government team, including in relations with international financial organizations, to strengthen the prestige of Ukraine”.

In 2017, the then president of Ukraine Poroshenko deprived Saakashvili of Ukrainian citizenship. It was returned to him in 2019 by president Zelensky.