Exiled opposition politician Mikheil Saakashvili has called on European nations to slap sanctions on Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and his inner circle, accusing them of violating his human rights.

Saakashvili said Tuesday that Poroshenko breached international law by stripping him of his Ukrainian citizenship and forcibly kicking him out of the country.

Speaking in The Hague, Netherlands, Saakashvili says sanctions should be used to push Poroshenko into restoring Saakashvili's citizenship and allowing him to return to Ukraine.

Saakashvili was Georgia's president from 2004 to 2013, and later was given a governorship in Ukraine by then-ally President Petro Poroshenko. However Saakashvili has since criticized Poroshenko for failing to stem corruption and has led anti-government protests.

Saakashvili was detained in March in Kiev by armed, masked men and deported to Poland.