Kavkaz

Georgian opposition continues calls for Saakashvili to step down

TBILISI, March 10  – Nine Georgian opposition parties have begun collecting signatures across the country to demand the resignation of President Mikheil Saakashvili. The radical opposition plans to collect signatures in 16 major towns and cities in Georgia and hold a mass rally in downtown Tbilisi on April 9. 

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Protesters,Police Scuffle Outside Georgia Assembly

Protest organisers said three or four people were lightly injured when police moved in to push back demonstrators. Dozens of anti-government protesters in Georgia briefly scuffled with police outside parliament in the capital Tbilisi on Monday and one person was detained. Protest organisers said three or four people were lightly …

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Rebuilding comes slowly in South Ossetian capital

TSKHINVALI, Georgia: Six months after Russia and Georgia fought a war over South Ossetia, the enclave’s capital city is still a mass of fresh scars. Many people in Tskhinvali are shivering through the winter behind windows made of plastic sheeting. Piles of broken glass and trash – in one case, …

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Abkhazia, Russia ink 49-yr pact

Moscow, In a move likely to irk Western powers, including the US, Russia has signed a 49-year defence pact with Georgia’s breakaway republic Abkhazia, under which it will have a naval base at the country’s Black Sea coast. Under the 49-year agreement Russia will have an airbase in Gudauta and …

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S.Ossetia says Georgia building new firing positions near border

MOSCOW, March 6 – Georgia’s armed forces are building fortified structures near the border with South Ossetia, as well as new firing positions, the South Ossetian president said on Friday. “As of now, there are 35 Georgian armed checkpoints in the zone of European observers’ responsibility. Overall, there are about …

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Georgia warns of Soviet restoration

Prime minister denies feeling abandoned by EU’s and NATO’s renewal of normal relations with Russia. Nika Gilauri, the prime minister of Georgia, has warned the European Union and NATO not to “let Russia get away” with its recognition of two breakaway territories in Georgia, warning that it would then risk …

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Clinton reiterates support for Georgia

Ahead of talks with her Russian counterpart Friday, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton made clear Washington’s continuing stand on its relations with Georgia, saying, Washington’s engagement with Moscow in no way lessened its support for Tbilisi. She was answering questions on the future of US-EU relations and other …

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S Ossetia hopes EU mission to probe into real facts of Georgia’s war

TSKHINVAL, March 6 – An independent inquiry mission of the European Union, which will investigate the facts of the conflict in South Ossetia, arrived in the republic on Friday with Heidi Tagliavini at the head. EU emissaries will meet with South Ossetian presidential Plenipotentiary Representative on Issues of Post-Conflict Settlement …

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Georgian diplomat supports dialogue with Russia

TBILISI, March 6 – Erosi Kitsmarishvili, ex-Ambassador of Georgia to Russia, believes time has come for the beginning of a dialogue on the settlement of relations between the two countries. He spoke about it in an interview with Itar-Tass on Friday. “I think both Tbilisi and Moscow realise perfectly well …

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Swiss embassy in Georgia begins issuing Russian visas

TBILISI/MOSCOW, March 5  – The Swiss embassy in Georgia began on Thursday accepting applications for Russian entry visas from Georgian nationals. Georgia severed diplomatic ties with Russia in late August 2008 after Moscow recognized its former republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states. Recognition followed a five-day war …

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