The third president of Georgia, Mykhailo Saakashvili, suggests that Russia may be involved in his return to his homeland in October 2021. He stated this in an interview with the German newspaper Spiegel.

 According to Saakashvili, Russian President Vladimir Putin, his predecessor Dmitry Medvedev, and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov ordered not only to destroy him physically, but also to arrest him and put him on trial in Georgia.

 "Apart from Russia, no other country in the world has recognized the charges or sentences against me. I wanted to return to Georgia, but the timing was bad - shortly before the start of Russia's war against Ukraine. It is possible that the people who planned my return to Georgia in October 2021 were introduced by Russian agents. To be honest, the country where I was born long ago became a secret ally of Putin," Saakashvili said.

 In his opinion, what happened to him is a clear "message" to the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi: "He refused to leave the country at the beginning of Russia's aggressive war, just like I did when the Russian military invaded Georgia in 2008... We in Georgia then were punished for our successful reforms, just as Zelensky is now paying the price for his anti-oligarchic policy. For politics, which I was honored to be a part of."

 Commenting on his plans for the future, Saakashvili said: if he survives, he sees himself only in Ukraine.