The News in Brief
Thursday, October 29
Georgian President meets Polish President
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili held meetings in Poland on 28 October. The President met his Polish counterpart Lech Kaczynski, the Polish Prime Minister and its Minister of Foreign Affairs.
At a press conference held after the meeting, Mikheil Saakashvili thanked Lech Kaczynski for Poland’s support for Georgia during last year’s August war. “Poland supports Georgia and is well aware of all the problems the Georgian people face,” Saakashvili stated.
Mikheil Saakashvili also touched upon the Tagliavini Commission’s conclusion, saying that Georgia doesn’t agree with some of its points, “but the document says the main thing: what Georgia was saying about the war is true, while Russia’s arguments are not,” the Georgian President said, adding that the Polish people share this position too.
Mikheil Saakashvili left for Poland on Tuesday. (Interpressnews)
Euro MPs call on Russia to withdraw its forces from Georgia
MPs discussed the Tagliavini Commission report at Tuesday’s session and slammed Russia for occupying Georgian territory and ignoring norms of international law. The participants of the session were unanimous in condemning Russian aggression against Georgia. The Euro MPs called on Russia to withdraw its forces from Georgian territory.
The delegations from the Baltic States were particularly active in declaring their support for Georgia’s territorial integrity. They reminded their Russian colleagues that their aggression not only violated the territorial integrity of Georgia but created new threats for security in Europe.
The session also discussed the need to intensify cooperation with Georgia. (Rustavi 2)
Occupiers deploy forces and armoured vehicles to Gali district
Russian occupiers have reentered those villages of the Gali district of breakaway Abkhazia which they left after the August 12 2008 ceasefire last year. Reportedly they are reinforcing checkpoints in the villages of Chuburkhinji, Saberio and Ghvashghverdi. Armoured vehicles, tanks and about five hundred soldiers have been seen moving around these villages and they have stationed tanks around the Enguri Power Plant.
The occupiers told locals yesterday that they are planning to occupy the villages around the Enguri Plant. While the land forces were moving in the Gali district, Russian helicopters supported them from the air.
The Georgian authorities have condemned this reoccupation and assessed it as yet another provocation prior to the so-called Presidential elections in breakaway Abkhazia. (Rustavi 2)
Labour Party accuses Prime Minister of lobbying for coffee business
The Labour Party has accused Prime Minister Nika Gilauri of monopolising the coffee business in Georgia. Paata Jibladze of the party said that the PM and his family were preventing small companies from operating in this sector.
The Labour Party member and his allies rallied outside the Coffee House on Kazbegi Avenue, Tbilisi, yesterday. Jibladze also alleged that the PM’s family did not only control the import of coffee into the country, but had a network of coffee houses throughout the country.
The opposition party asserts that the PM has made millions of GEL from the coffee business. (Rustavi 2)
Alliance for Georgia makes statement on detention of Georgians
The Alliance for Georgia has made a statement about the detention of 16 citizens of Georgia in the Tskhinvali conflict zone. It says that the detention of Georgian citizens by Russian occupiers in Dusheti district is one more culpable provocation committed by Russia on the territory of sovereign Georgia.
“The abovementioned act is designed to aggravate the already tense situation in the region and put the security of civilians living in the region in danger. We are demanding the immediate release of Georgian citizens by the Russian Federation without precondition,” the statement says.
The Alliance statement appeals to the international community to get involved in this case and broker a meeting between the parties within the frameworks of the Incidents Prevention Mechanism. “We appeal to the Georgian Government to prevent the further escalation of the situation on the occupied territories by the Russian Federation and adopt appropriate measures to protect the population in cooperation with the EU monitoring mission,” it says. (Interpressnews)
Deputy Foreign Minister meets Ukrainian Ambassador
On 27 October 2009 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Davit Jalagania met Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to Georgia Vasili Tsibenko at the request of the latter.
At the meeting the sides discussed topical issues of Georgian-Ukrainian bilateral and multilateral cooperation, underlined priorities for strategic cooperation between Georgia and Ukraine and laid special stress upon the urgency of high level visits between the two states. The sides also discussed details of the 6th session of the Georgian-Ukrainian Joint Governmental Economic Commission and further consultations on separate issues of bilateral cooperation.
The Ukrainian side reaffirmed its unaltered position with regard to Georgia's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity. (Interpressnews)
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili held meetings in Poland on 28 October. The President met his Polish counterpart Lech Kaczynski, the Polish Prime Minister and its Minister of Foreign Affairs.
At a press conference held after the meeting, Mikheil Saakashvili thanked Lech Kaczynski for Poland’s support for Georgia during last year’s August war. “Poland supports Georgia and is well aware of all the problems the Georgian people face,” Saakashvili stated.
Mikheil Saakashvili also touched upon the Tagliavini Commission’s conclusion, saying that Georgia doesn’t agree with some of its points, “but the document says the main thing: what Georgia was saying about the war is true, while Russia’s arguments are not,” the Georgian President said, adding that the Polish people share this position too.
Mikheil Saakashvili left for Poland on Tuesday. (Interpressnews)
Euro MPs call on Russia to withdraw its forces from Georgia
MPs discussed the Tagliavini Commission report at Tuesday’s session and slammed Russia for occupying Georgian territory and ignoring norms of international law. The participants of the session were unanimous in condemning Russian aggression against Georgia. The Euro MPs called on Russia to withdraw its forces from Georgian territory.
The delegations from the Baltic States were particularly active in declaring their support for Georgia’s territorial integrity. They reminded their Russian colleagues that their aggression not only violated the territorial integrity of Georgia but created new threats for security in Europe.
The session also discussed the need to intensify cooperation with Georgia. (Rustavi 2)
Occupiers deploy forces and armoured vehicles to Gali district
Russian occupiers have reentered those villages of the Gali district of breakaway Abkhazia which they left after the August 12 2008 ceasefire last year. Reportedly they are reinforcing checkpoints in the villages of Chuburkhinji, Saberio and Ghvashghverdi. Armoured vehicles, tanks and about five hundred soldiers have been seen moving around these villages and they have stationed tanks around the Enguri Power Plant.
The occupiers told locals yesterday that they are planning to occupy the villages around the Enguri Plant. While the land forces were moving in the Gali district, Russian helicopters supported them from the air.
The Georgian authorities have condemned this reoccupation and assessed it as yet another provocation prior to the so-called Presidential elections in breakaway Abkhazia. (Rustavi 2)
Labour Party accuses Prime Minister of lobbying for coffee business
The Labour Party has accused Prime Minister Nika Gilauri of monopolising the coffee business in Georgia. Paata Jibladze of the party said that the PM and his family were preventing small companies from operating in this sector.
The Labour Party member and his allies rallied outside the Coffee House on Kazbegi Avenue, Tbilisi, yesterday. Jibladze also alleged that the PM’s family did not only control the import of coffee into the country, but had a network of coffee houses throughout the country.
The opposition party asserts that the PM has made millions of GEL from the coffee business. (Rustavi 2)
Alliance for Georgia makes statement on detention of Georgians
The Alliance for Georgia has made a statement about the detention of 16 citizens of Georgia in the Tskhinvali conflict zone. It says that the detention of Georgian citizens by Russian occupiers in Dusheti district is one more culpable provocation committed by Russia on the territory of sovereign Georgia.
“The abovementioned act is designed to aggravate the already tense situation in the region and put the security of civilians living in the region in danger. We are demanding the immediate release of Georgian citizens by the Russian Federation without precondition,” the statement says.
The Alliance statement appeals to the international community to get involved in this case and broker a meeting between the parties within the frameworks of the Incidents Prevention Mechanism. “We appeal to the Georgian Government to prevent the further escalation of the situation on the occupied territories by the Russian Federation and adopt appropriate measures to protect the population in cooperation with the EU monitoring mission,” it says. (Interpressnews)
Deputy Foreign Minister meets Ukrainian Ambassador
On 27 October 2009 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Davit Jalagania met Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to Georgia Vasili Tsibenko at the request of the latter.
At the meeting the sides discussed topical issues of Georgian-Ukrainian bilateral and multilateral cooperation, underlined priorities for strategic cooperation between Georgia and Ukraine and laid special stress upon the urgency of high level visits between the two states. The sides also discussed details of the 6th session of the Georgian-Ukrainian Joint Governmental Economic Commission and further consultations on separate issues of bilateral cooperation.
The Ukrainian side reaffirmed its unaltered position with regard to Georgia's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity. (Interpressnews)