Georgian President to attend inauguration of President of Ukraine
Georgian President to attend inauguration of President of Ukraine

Georgia’s President Salome Zurabishvili will attend the inauguration of incoming President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky to be held on May 20.

Zelenskiy defeated President Petro Poroshenko in an April 21 runoff election with more than 73 percent of votes. His opponent received less than 25 percent.

According to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, the president-elect, who has suggested he might dissolve parliament and call snap elections, has accused lawmakers of deliberately postponing the swearing-in ceremony.

Under Ukraine’s constitution, Zelenskiy would have seven days after his inauguration to dissolve the legislature, whose term is set to end in November.

The 41-year-old has vowed to eradicate Ukraine’s widespread corruption and end the war with Russia-backed separatists in the country’s east that has killed some 13,000 people since April 2014.

A comedian with no political experience, Zelenskiy will also need to deal with Moscow’s takeover of Ukraine’s Crimea Peninsula in March 2014.