The Kremlin said it would not respond to former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili’s claim that Russian President Vladimir Putin was behind his arrest in Ukraine on Tuesday.
Saakashvili, the former governor of the Odessa region in southern Ukraine, has played an active role in the country's politics in recent years. He founded the Movement of New Forces political party in February 2017 and is said to be in a conflict with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.
On the day of his arrest, Ukraine’s Prosecutor General accused Saakashvili of receiving $500,000 from the fugitive Ukrainian businessmen Serhiy Kurchenko, who is currently hiding in Russia, Interfax news agency reported.
Saakashvili was arrested on the roof of his apartment building in Kiev, where he reportedly fled after Ukrainian security forces arrived to arrest him on criminal charges.
“We are not used to reacting to declarations made from people on roofs,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was cited by Interfax as saying in response to Saakashvili's accusations.
“We are following the events in Ukraine with interest,” Peskov said. “This is a headache for Ukraine — you wouldn’t even wish this on your enemy.”
“Though of course, we do not consider the Ukrainian people our enemy,” he added.
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