Saakashvili says he has no documents forbidding him to stay in Ukraine

Former Georgian President and leader of the Movement of New Forces Mikheil Saakashvili has said that he did not receive any documents that would challenge his right to stay in Ukraine.

"Prosecutor General [Yuriy] Lutsenko... said that the Migration Service denied me the right to stay in the country and that I can be deported! The irony of the situation is not only that the Migration Service did not refuse me, but also that it has not yet responded to my request and has not provided any documents that would challenge my right to stay in Ukraine!" Saakashvili wrote on his Facebook page on Tuesday.

"A few weeks ago, my lawyers filed a lawsuit against the inactivity of the Migration Service and complete ignoring of my requests! This Thursday, on October 26, Lviv District Administrative Court will hold a hearing on this case," the politician added.

He said that according to Article 16 and Part 4, Article 17 of the law of Ukraine on the legal status of foreigners and stateless persons, his status in Ukraine is "completely legal."

"I am a person who has a permanent place of residence on Ukrainian territory. I use all the rights of a citizen, and I cannot be deported from Ukrainian territory," Saakashvili wrote.

Earlier, Lutsenko said that the State Migration Service had denied a refugee status to Saakashvili.

"Now the State Migration Service has denied him the status of a refugee, which he requested, and Mr. Saakashvili, as always, failed to challenge this decision in court," Lutsenko told journalists in Kyiv on October 24.

Thus, "there are no special circumstances" that could prevent Saakashvili from being deported or extradited, the PGO chief said.