Saakashvili refuses to change his citizenship and ask for asylum outside of Ukraine
In an interview with the Georgian television company Rustavi 2, Mikheil Saakashvili, the former president of Georgia and the former governor of the Odessa region of Ukraine, declared that he is not going to accept the citizenship of any other country or ask for political asylum anywhere and that he considers himself a citizen of Ukraine.
"I have no intention, desire or plans to apply for political asylum in another country," Saakashvili said.
According to Saakashvili, President Petro Poroshenko violated Ukraine’s Constitution and international obligations by revoking his citizenship. He considers Poroshenko's decision to be an illegal act.
Saakashvili said he is optimistic and said that in the autumn of this year he and his team are going to carry out “a great mobilization in Ukraine”.
"We are planning a big mobilization in Ukraine in the autumn. We will go through all the relevant judicial authorities. Ukrainian lawyers are working towards this and foreign lawyers are helping us," he said.
At the same time, Saakashvili believes that President Poroshenko has harmed himself with this decision, since he actually recognized Saakashvili as his main opponent by expelling him from the country.
"Such things usually end very badly," he concluded.