The Georgian Government is a useful tool for Russia to avoid international sanctions, former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili said in an interview with the German magazine Spiegel.

According to Mikheil Saakashvili, the President of Russia Vladimir Putin, his predecessor Dmitry Medvedev and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia ordered not only his physical destruction, but also his arrest and trial in Georgia.

"Apart from Russia, no other country in the world recognized the charges or judgments against me. I wanted to return to Georgia, but the timing was bad - so close to the start of Russia's war against Ukraine. It is possible that the people who planned my return to Georgia in October 2021 were spies of Russia...

To tell the truth, the country of my birth has become a secret ally of Putin for a long time," says Saakashvili.

Saakashvili notes that what is happening to him is a clear "message" to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

"He [Zelensky] refused to leave the country at the beginning of Russia's aggression, as I did when the Russian military invaded Georgia in 2008... We in Georgia were punished for our successful reforms then, just as Zelensky is now paying for his anti-oligarchic policies. I was honored to be a part of those policies", Saakashvili said.

Speaking about future plans, Saakashvili noted that in case he survives, he sees his future only in Ukraine.

"I have already played a role in the history of this country and I was incredibly lucky to have the opportunity to work with Zelensky, whom I see as the leader of the free world. In contrast, it is very sad to see how Georgia is becoming a secret ally of the Kremlin in this war".