U.S. will also train the region’s police.
The U.S. government will pay the salaries to the staff of Georgia’s former President Mikhail Saakashvili, who is now serving as a new governor of Odessa Region, Ukraine, Saakashvili said, adding that California police will also train Odessa’s officers.
“Within the framework of Odessa’s anti-corruption pressure, the U.S. government agreed to provide funds for the salaries of the new team of [Mikhail] Saakashvili,” Saakashvili wrote on his Facebook page after the meeting with Geoffrey Pyatt, the US Ambassador to Ukraine.
He added that American police officers from California “will train new Odessa police.”
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Odessa activists demand dismissal of appointed Georgian ‘governor’
Local anti-Maidan activists rallied in Odessa demanding the resignation of Governor Mikheil Saakashvili, local 1News reported.
The protesters held banners reading “Saakashvili go home” and “Saakashvili is a war criminal”.
“Odessa should have a normal local governor who will protect the city’s interests, and not a crazy war criminal,” one of the rally’s organizers said.
The activists walked a goat sporting a red tie recalling the famous BBC video footage of Saakashvili chewing his tie in 2008.
