“ At least one Ukrainian politician appeared to seize on the opportunity to promote his closeness to the U.S. president-elect. On Facebook, Mikheil Saakashvili, the firebrand former Georgian president who resigned as governor of Ukraine's Odesa region on November 7, shared a photograph of himself with Trump during the opening of Trump Tower in Batumi, Georgia, in 2012, when he was head of state. "I've known [Trump] for more than 20 years, we are friends. I accurately predicted [his win]," Saakashvili wrote. He added a word of caution as to not place himself too close to the controversial Trump, saying the American businessman turned politician had "a strong personality with unpredictable policy ... we must be careful." (Radio Free Europe, November 9, 2016) ”Saakashvili quits political post in Ukraine, forms party to oppose anti-Russian president
“ KYIV -- Mikheil Saakashvili, a onetime Georgian president who resurrected his political career in nearby Ukraine, has announced the launch of a new Ukrainian political party and called for early elections just days after resigning his governor's post in Odesa. Speaking to reporters in the Ukrainian capital on November 11, Saakashvili repeated accusations that rampant profiteering and obstacles to reform are hurting Ukraine, which remains divided two years after Russia seized Crimea and Moscow-backed separatists began fighting against Kyiv's authority. "We will create a new broad political power, a platform of new forces, and our goal is to change the present, existing, so-called political elite, who are actually profiteers and social misfits," Saakashvili told a press conference. He said the new party would be called Hvylia, or Wave, and added, "Our goal is for early parliamentary elections to be carried out as quickly as possible." He again lashed out at Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, a former schoolmate whom Saakashvili accused of sabotaging reform efforts in the Black Sea port region when Saakashvili unexpectedly quit the Odesa governorship on November 7. [...] "Unlike Trump," Saakashvili said, "Poroshenko, who has known me even longer, did not want to use my experience because he didn't want to change Ukraine." He then played archive footage dubbed into Ukrainian of Trump -- who once called Saakashvili "one of the great leaders of the world" -- lauding Saakashvili's reform efforts in Georgia. (Radio Free Europe, November 11, 2016) ”Saakashvili basing his Ukrainian election campaign on personal ties to Trump, improving relations with Russia
“ Saakashvili, who built his reputation upon opposition to Russian President Vladimir Putin and the oligarch Ivanishvili, has swiftly shifted over the past two years from serving in the government of Ukrainian oligarch and President Petro Poroshenko to aligning himself with Poroshenko's opponents. At the same time, he is seeking to portray his relationship with U.S. President Donald Trump, an avowed Putin admirer, as a positive in addressing Ukraine's ongoing struggle with Russia. He developed a relationship with Trump in the lead up to a failed 2012 development project in the Georgian Black Sea city of Batumi. His rival Ivanishvili denounced the project following the 2012 election, and then he re-assessed his position after Trump's election in 2016. Trump ended up cancelling the project at the end of the year. (Eurasia Review, January 31, 2017) ” |
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