“No, I should get back my Ukrainian citizenship that was kind of taken away illegally. And many Ukrainians feel angry and they would feel abandoned, if I did not fight for it,” Saakashvili told BNS in comments of his plans to seek Lithuanian citizenship.
After he was stripped of his Ukrainian citizenship, the proposal to grant him Lithuanian citizenship was made by MEP Petras Auštrevičius.
Saakashvili was in Vilnius to attend a rally against Russia’s nine-year crawling occupation of the Georgian territory of South Ossetia. He said he was “very grateful for this amazing offer” of Lithuanian citizenship.
He said he could now travel with his Ukrainian passport, pledging to defend his right to Ukrainian citizen in the country’s courts. After a brief visit in Vilnius, Saakashvili plans to leave Lithuania on Tuesday afternoon.
Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko a few weeks ago stripped Saakashvili of Ukrainian citizenship due to what he said was certain documents from Georgia. No further details were provided.
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