The News in Brief
Friday, September 9
Three arrested in relation to murder that occurred a week ago in Vake district, Tbilisi
Georgia’s Interior Ministry has detained three people for not informing the MIA about a recent murder case in Tbilisi.
As established by the investigation process, the detainees were together with the accused murderer B.N. in the car belonging to T.Sh. They witnessed the incident but did not inform law enforcers.
On September 2, Badri Natobadze shot Soso Jokhadze and Zakaria Chibukhashvili in the Vake district of Tbilisi. Jokhadze died at the scene, while Chibukhashvili was hospitalized. (IPN)
Central Bank Cuts Key Rate to 6.5%
Georgia’s central bank cut its key refinancing rate by 25 basis points to 6.5% on Wednesday.
“The monetary policy decision is based on the macroeconomic forecast, according to which the phasing out of tight monetary policy must continue in order for inflation to reach its target level,” monetary policy committee of the National Bank of Georgia said after a meeting on September 7.
Georgia’s annual inflation slowed to 0.9% in August from 1.5% in July – far below of 2016’s target level of 5%.
NBG started tightening of monetary policy from February 2015 with the key rate gradually increasing in a course of last year from 4% in the beginning of 2015 to 8% by the end of last year. The key rate was remaining unchanged at 8% in the first three months of this year before starting gradual easing of the monetary policy in April.
The next meeting of central bank’s monetary policy committee has been scheduled for October 26. (Civil.ge)
‘Georgia should have a U.S. military base before it gets into NATO’
The Republican Party wants to have a U.S. military base in Georgia before the country becomes a full member of NATO.
This was one of the statements made by Republican Party members during a debate on Rustavi 2 on Tuesday evening, in their election special ‘Archevani’.
During the debate, party spokesperson Davit Usupashvili, who is Speaker of Parliament, drew attention to his proposal to add a text to the Constitution saying that ‘it is firm will of Georgian people to join the Euro-Atlantic space’.
The proposal came as a response to another made by Nino Burjanadze, leader of Democratic Movement, to state in the Constitution that Georgia should have non-bloc status, i.e. not be allied with either NATO or Russia.
Usupashvili said that the number one issue on the Republicans’ list of priorities is the security of the state, and their main goal is to join NATO. He then went even further, and proposed establishing a United States military base in the country before Georgia even becomes a member of NATO.
“Before Georgia actually joins NATO, the country has to make sure that a U.S. military base is located on the territory of Georgia,” Usupashvili said, adding that it is crucial for the country’s security.
“When they talk about non-bloc status and legalizing Russian military bases in Georgia, our response should be the following: to redirect the policy in another direction, the location of U.S. or any other NATO member states’ military base and we will fight for this.”
In 2015, NATO opened a training facility in Tbilisi, which was unofficially described as a ‘base‘. Russia has called the step provocative. (DF watch)
Saakashvili - This year I will harvest grapes and make wine in Kakheti
Former President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili plans to make wine this year in his own vineyard in Kakheti.
The Odessa governor said this on Nanuka’s TV Show.
“I want to return to my vineyard very much. I hope they will wait for me to do the grape harvest with me. This year I will do the grape harvest and make wine in Kakheti,” he said. (IPN)
Georgia’s Interior Ministry has detained three people for not informing the MIA about a recent murder case in Tbilisi.
As established by the investigation process, the detainees were together with the accused murderer B.N. in the car belonging to T.Sh. They witnessed the incident but did not inform law enforcers.
On September 2, Badri Natobadze shot Soso Jokhadze and Zakaria Chibukhashvili in the Vake district of Tbilisi. Jokhadze died at the scene, while Chibukhashvili was hospitalized. (IPN)
Central Bank Cuts Key Rate to 6.5%
Georgia’s central bank cut its key refinancing rate by 25 basis points to 6.5% on Wednesday.
“The monetary policy decision is based on the macroeconomic forecast, according to which the phasing out of tight monetary policy must continue in order for inflation to reach its target level,” monetary policy committee of the National Bank of Georgia said after a meeting on September 7.
Georgia’s annual inflation slowed to 0.9% in August from 1.5% in July – far below of 2016’s target level of 5%.
NBG started tightening of monetary policy from February 2015 with the key rate gradually increasing in a course of last year from 4% in the beginning of 2015 to 8% by the end of last year. The key rate was remaining unchanged at 8% in the first three months of this year before starting gradual easing of the monetary policy in April.
The next meeting of central bank’s monetary policy committee has been scheduled for October 26. (Civil.ge)
‘Georgia should have a U.S. military base before it gets into NATO’
The Republican Party wants to have a U.S. military base in Georgia before the country becomes a full member of NATO.
This was one of the statements made by Republican Party members during a debate on Rustavi 2 on Tuesday evening, in their election special ‘Archevani’.
During the debate, party spokesperson Davit Usupashvili, who is Speaker of Parliament, drew attention to his proposal to add a text to the Constitution saying that ‘it is firm will of Georgian people to join the Euro-Atlantic space’.
The proposal came as a response to another made by Nino Burjanadze, leader of Democratic Movement, to state in the Constitution that Georgia should have non-bloc status, i.e. not be allied with either NATO or Russia.
Usupashvili said that the number one issue on the Republicans’ list of priorities is the security of the state, and their main goal is to join NATO. He then went even further, and proposed establishing a United States military base in the country before Georgia even becomes a member of NATO.
“Before Georgia actually joins NATO, the country has to make sure that a U.S. military base is located on the territory of Georgia,” Usupashvili said, adding that it is crucial for the country’s security.
“When they talk about non-bloc status and legalizing Russian military bases in Georgia, our response should be the following: to redirect the policy in another direction, the location of U.S. or any other NATO member states’ military base and we will fight for this.”
In 2015, NATO opened a training facility in Tbilisi, which was unofficially described as a ‘base‘. Russia has called the step provocative. (DF watch)
Saakashvili - This year I will harvest grapes and make wine in Kakheti
Former President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili plans to make wine this year in his own vineyard in Kakheti.
The Odessa governor said this on Nanuka’s TV Show.
“I want to return to my vineyard very much. I hope they will wait for me to do the grape harvest with me. This year I will do the grape harvest and make wine in Kakheti,” he said. (IPN)