Former Georgian President and ex-Odesa governor Mikheil Saakashvili may return to the Ukrainian politics after a crushing defeat of his political movement during the 2019 snap parliamentary elections, which forced the politician to keep a low profile over the past year.

On April 22, Saakashvili announced that he had received an offer from President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to become deputy PM for reforms in the Ukrainian cabinet.

"It is a great honour for me to receive from the president an offer to become deputy prime minister of the Ukrainian government for reforms. I also had a very informative and useful conversation with Prime Minister Shmyhal, during, which we discussed in detail all the issues related to my possible work in the government," Saakashvili wrote on his Facebook page.

It was unclear immediately, what reasons may trigger Saakashvili appointment to the government at this particular stage. Some Kyiv-based political experts believe that the move has been aimed against Internal Affairs Minister Arsen Avakov, with whom Saakashvili has had strained relations in the past.

Avakov is a close associate of oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky. However, during March's reshuffle of the Ukrainian cabinet, President Zelenskiy said that Avakov is "one of the most effective state officials".

Avakov has been Ukraine’s internal affairs minister since February 2014, having gained the post after actively supporting the EuroMaidan protest. Previously, he was a key political and business figure in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city.

However, since becoming Ukraine’s police chief, Avakov has been accused of being involved in numerous corruption scandals, failing to investigate high-profile crimes (including the murder of prominent journalist Pavel Sheremet), as well as using police, paramilitary groups and even alleged street thugs for political ends.

Late the same day, Zelenskiy confirmed the offer to Saakashvili, adding that he sees potential in Saakashvili for assistance to the Ukrainian government.

“The President met with Saakashvili to discuss the latter's vision of possible support for development of Ukraine. Saakashvili is a well-known figure on the international stage and he has showed his experience in successful implementation of reforms. President Zelenskiy sees in Saakashvili potential for assistance to the Ukrainian government and proposed him to share his opinion and developments with the government and the parliament of Ukraine," the presidential media office said in a statement provided to Interfax Ukraine.

Saakashvili returned to Ukraine in May 2019 following the restoration of Saakashvili's Ukrainian citizenship by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy. The politician arrived at Kyiv's Boryspil international airport from Warsaw, where he was welcomed by his supporters and journalists.

In February 2018, Saakashvili was deported from Ukraine for a violation of migration regulations. The move followed the cancellation of his citizenship by then President Petro Poroshenko.

In October, Ukraine's State Migration Service refused to grant refugee status to Saakashvili, who is self-imposed exile from Georgia, where he is wanted on corruption charges. The move followed Saakashvili’s September crossing of the Polish-Ukrainian border despite the fact that he had no valid passport at the time. When, in July, Poroshenko stripped Saakashvili of his Ukrainian citizenship, he was left stateless.

On April 22, the Ukrainska Pravda online outlet reported that Saakashvili's appointment may be considered by Ukraine's parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, during its extraordinary meeting on April 24. The meeting should be hold with the aim of cancelling amendments to its regulations, with the aim of greenlighting, in final readings, a bill that includes restricting the return of failed banks to their former shareholders.

During the parliament's extraordinary meeting on April 16, the bill was backed by 242 MPs, while the necessary minimum is 226 votes. The amendments allow the Rada to adopt any law under simplified procedure if MPs have filed record-high number of amendments to such a document, as happened with the banking bill, for, which Ukrainian MPs have filed about 16,335 amendments.

The bill’s approval, which will make it impossible to return the nation's largest lender PrivatBank, nationalised in late 2016, to its former owners, oligarchs Ihor Kolomoisky and Gennadiy Bogolyubov, is a key precondition for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to initiate its loan programme for Ukraine, estimated at about $8bn.

On April 22, Saakashvili added that he supported Zelenskiy during the presidential election and associates great hopes for Ukraine with his team. "I am approaching this offer and my decision with great responsibility, because it is a very difficult time for the country," he wrote on Facebook page.

He added that Ukraine faces a difficult period, and "we have to be braver than ever in our decisions and reforms now". Saakashvili added he will present to the Verkhovna Rada his programme of immediate changes and his participation in the work of Denys Shmyhal's government.