Ukrainian political scientist: “attacking” Saakashvili will not be appreciated in Washington and it will backfire on Poroshenko

A Ukrainian political scientist close to Yulia Tymoshenko, director of the Ukrainian Barometer sociological service, Viktor Nebozhenko, negatively assessed Poroshenko’s decree on Saakashvili’s loss of Ukrainian citizenship.

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Nebozhenko stated this in an interview with the Gordon publication, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.

“Poroshenko no longer needed Saakashvili, which is why he deprived him of his citizenship. It was no coincidence that the head of state went to Georgia - there he tested the waters on how Tbilisi would react to Saakashvili’s possible deportation. Big trouble awaits him there. This will be a big problem for both Ukraine and Georgia. Saakashvili is a pro-American politician. His possible deportation would be a very bold step. After all, it will lead to serious consequences. Where are the guarantees that Saakashvili, deprived of his Ukrainian passport, will not end up in the clutches of the FSB? And such a threat is quite real,” the political scientist noted.

He emphasized that depriving Saakashvili of citizenship would cause a negative reaction from Washington.

“The United States will have an extremely negative attitude towards depriving Saakashvili of Ukrainian citizenship. This is a dangerous game for Poroshenko. And this is not just a resolution of the personal conflict between Poroshenko and Saakashvili - the consequences will be much more serious. Considering that Poroshenko really wants to be re-elected for a second term, he clearly doesn’t need Saakashvili here,” Nebozhenko emphasized.

In May 2017, Saakashvili stated that Poroshenko intended to deprive him of Ukrainian citizenship, which he received in May 2015, when he was appointed chairman of the Odessa regional state administration. The Movement of New Forces party emphasized that “if Saakashvili is deprived of citizenship, it means that Poroshenko has taken the path of usurping power.”

Saakashvili himself said that “he will sit in Kyiv without citizenship.” At the same time, People's Deputy Sergei Leshchenko is afraid that Saakashvili will be arrested right in Boryspil immediately upon arrival from the United States and will be directly extradited to Georgia, where local law enforcement officers are already waiting for him.