Ukraine’s ex-ecology minister may become Saakashvili’s adviser

KIEV, July 19. /TASS/. Ukraine’s former Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Igor Shevchenko, who was fired over corruption suspicion, may be appointed freelance adviser to Odessa region governor Mikheil Saakashvili.

"The day before yesterday, I visited Odessa at Mikheil Saakashvili’s invitation. The Odessa region is now a real vanguard of reforms and changes in the country… We have agreed [with Mikheil Saakashvili - TASS] that I will join Saakashvili’s team as a freelance adviser," Shevchenko wrote on his Facebook account on Sunday.

He said his job would be to "promote quick implementation of a number of concrete investment projects planned or launched in the Odessa region," "to attract new investors and organize new investment projects" and to "help Odessa’s businesses maintain contacts with the central authorities in Kiev."

In early July, Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada (parliament) dismissed Igor Shevchenko. The resignation was initiated by Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk who accused the former minister of "violating the norms of conduct of a state servant." Thus, according to the prime minister, Shevchenko had reportedly made foreign trips during the working time.

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