President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky reversed the decision of his predecessor Petro Poroshenko to deprive Mikheil Saakashvili of Ukrainian citizenship, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
This is stated in the decree published on the official website of the President of Ukraine.
“To introduce changes to the decree of the President of Ukraine dated July 26, 2017 No. 196... by eliminating the provision on the loss of Ukrainian citizenship by Mikhail Saakashvili,” the decree says.
Saakashvili has already thanked for the return of citizenship.
“Thank you to President Zelensky,” Saakashvili wrote on his Facebook page.
Earlier, Mikheil Saakashvili wrote a letter to the new President of Ukraine, asking for “restoration of justice and the return of Ukrainian citizenship.” In the letter, Saakashvili noted that he “does not need positions and preferences,” but Zelensky can “protect his rights” and help him return to Ukraine.
Let us recall that the country's ex-president Petro Poroshenko deprived Saakashvili of Ukrainian citizenship in July 2017. After this, Saakashvili was blocked from entering the country. Recently, Saakashvili said that “the political situation in the country has changed” and asked to be allowed to return to Kyiv.
The question remains open about how Saakashvili’s relationship will develop with the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Arsen Avakov and businessman Igor Kolomoisky, the conflict with whom preceded his dismissal from the post of head of the Odessa Regional State Administration.