Saakashvili supporters protest in Kiev

By Ali Cura

KIEV (AA) - Former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvil held a protest on Sunday in the Ukrainian capital Kiev against President Petro Poroshenko.

Protesters chanted anti-Poroshenko slogans and tried to enter the International Art Centre.

Police clashed with Saakashvil's supporters and fired tear gas to stop them from making their way into the building.

Saakashvil told his supporters to calm down. No injuries were reported during the protests.

Earlier this month, an arrest warrant was issued for him, following a brief detention in Kiev -- in an incident that saw him climb onto the roof of his apartment building when police raided his address.

After serving as president of Georgia for 10 years, Saakashvili was appointed the governor of Ukraine's southern Odessa region by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in 2015 but he resigned the following year.

He has become an outspoken critic of Poroshenko, who he has accused of corruption.

The government has accused Saakashvili of being backed by an ally of deposed Ukranian President Victor Yanukovich.

Saakashvili was stripped of his Ukrainian citizenship while in the U.S. earlier this year, rendering him stateless, but in Sept. he crossed from Poland with the help of supporters.

His Georgian citizenship was revoked when he took up Ukrainian nationality in 2015.