Former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili commented on the decision of the European Council to grant Georgia candidate status for accession to the European Union.

“I am a proud Georgian and a proud citizen of Ukraine. Ukraine has opened the path to Europe for Georgia, but the Georgian people are the main entity that today brings closer our membership in the European Union. Europe has set foot in the Caucasus and we will make sure that the European flag, once raised in Georgia, is never lowered again. I first picked it up in 2004. In 2008, Russia tried to bring it down but failed. Now the European Union itself has raised its flag in our region, and no one will change this,” Saakashvili wrote on the social network.

Let us remind you that the day before Georgia received the status of a candidate to join the European Union. Also at the last summit, it was decided to begin negotiations on the issue of accession to the EU for Ukraine and Moldova.

Since October 1, 2021, Mikheil Saakashvili has been kept in a prison cell and in a hospital in Georgia due to the consequences of his hunger strike. The politician was convicted in the cases of the murder of banker Sandro Girgvliani and the beating of deputy Valery Gelashvili. In the first case, the ex-president was sentenced to three years in prison, in the second - to six. Human rights organizations have repeatedly demanded the release of Mikheil Saakashvili; in many countries around the world he is considered a political prisoner.