Saakashvili writes letter to Zelenskyy

Ex-president of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili thanked President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who earlier said that the Ukrainian government and embassy in Georgia would all be involved in dealing with his case.

Saakashvili wrote this in a letter posted on his Facebook page.

"I am deeply touched by your statement which is a response of the first-rate political leader to my illegal detention and imprisonment in Georgia based on the falsified charges that no one recognizes in the world, except Russia," he wrote.

Saakashvili stressed that he highly appreciates Zelenskyy's principled position on the protection of Ukraine and all Kremlin prisoners.

"Georgia is the love of my life, but I adore Ukraine as well – my second homeland, where I have spent many years of my life, where I have family and friends, and I highly value being a citizen of Ukraine. All my life I will be proud of having the opportunity to modestly contribute to the current historical changes and reforms in Ukraine with your leadership. Since, in fact, I am a personal prisoner of Putin, I highly appreciate your fundamental stance to protect Ukraine, the entire region, and all prisoners of the empire," he wrote.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he would facilitate the release of Mikheil Saakashvili, who was arrested in Georgia.

"Saakashvili is a citizen of Ukraine. Therefore, this also applies to him. All institutions – the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, our embassy operating in Georgia, at the level of the Georgian ambassador working in Ukraine, at the level of talks between our Cabinets of Ministers, and at the level of talks between the prime ministers – we will all be dealing with this issue," Zelenskyy said.

On Friday morning, October 1, Saakashvili said in a video on Facebook that he was in Batumi.

In the evening of the same day, Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Garibashvili announced about the detention of Mikheil Saakashvili. In turn, the former president went on a hunger strike, saying he considered himself a political prisoner.

Saakashvili served as president of Georgia from 2004 to 2013. He left the country after loosing the 2013 election.

After that, a number of criminal cases were initiated against the politician. On some of the charges, he was convicted in absentia.

In 2015, Saakashvili was deprived of Georgian citizenship. He has been a citizen of Ukraine for almost six years. He currently heads the Executive Committee of Ukraine's National Reform Council.