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Friday, November 4
Saakashvili attended Mikhalkov’s daughter’s wedding

Rezonansi writes that Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili was a guest at the wedding party of Russian movie director Nikita Mikhalkov’s daughter Nadia, who married Georgian movie director Rezo Gigineishvili, who works in Russia.

The wedding took place in Kakheti and about 60 guests came from Russia for this day, including famous people from Russia’s elite. Nikita Mikhalkov who had close friendly relations with PM Putin in 2008 after the Russian-Georgian war is purported to have said "Russia should have invaded Tbilisi and that since it did not do so, it made a mistake". Whether Georgia’s President should attend this wedding party after such statement from Mikhalkov became a subject of discussion.

Singer Nugzar Kvashali says that he was also at the wedding and does not remember if Nikita Mikhalkov really said this. “I do not see anything wrong if Saakashvili attended this party, I was also there and he and Mikhalkov had warm talks. It was a step forward to restore friendly relations with Russia,” Kvashali said. "After this wedding the President does not have any moral right to accuse anyone of being pro-Russian, since he made the first step by approaching Russia via Mikhalkov’s daughter wedding,” he added.

Historian Tedo Dundua said that if Mikhalkov had said the words attributed to him, the President shouldn't have attended the ceremony.



Members of the Georgia-Estonia friendship group met with Estonian MPs

The members of the National Defense Committee of the Parliament of Estonia are making an official visit to Georgia. Yesterday they met in the Parliament of Georgia with members of the Georgia-Estonia friendship group and discussed security issues and perspectives for membership in the EU and NATO.

MP Paata Lezhava stated that the friendship of Georgia and Estonia is important as they both have a western orientation, common interests and values leading to democracy. “Our main aspiration is integration into the Euro structures but we fully realize that a precondition is the formation of democratic structures and strengthening state institutions. We are doing our best to assist the development of business and agriculture, which will facilitate employment and improve the quality of life."