KIEV, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- Former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili has been banned from entering Ukraine for three years, Interfax-Ukraine news agency said Wednesday, citing Saakashvili's lawyer Ruslan Chornolutsky.
According to the agency, the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine has decided that Saakashvili is not allowed to cross the Ukrainian border until Feb. 13, 2021.
On Feb. 12, Saakashvili, now leader of Ukraine's opposition "Movement of New Forces" party, was deported from Ukraine to Poland.
The State Border Guard Service of Ukraine said Saakashvili had been residing in Ukraine "illegally" and was returned to the country from which he entered Ukraine.
Since Feb. 14, Saakashvili has been residing in the Netherlands, where his wife lives. Netherlands and Poland are both the European Union member states.
Saakashvili, 50, was Georgian president from 2004-13, after which he went to Ukraine as an ally of Petro Poroshenko, now president of Ukraine. He acquired Ukrainian citizenship in May 2015 and was appointed governor of the southern Odessa region.
In July 2017, Poroshenko revoked Saakashvili's citizenship, following allegations that he had submitted false information while applying for his Ukrainian passport. Saakashvili is now a stateless person.
