(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Brian Whitmore – April 29, 2013) TBILISI – Georgian Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili says resolving his country’s conflicts with Russia is his “big dream.” But it’s a dream that has him locked in a war of words with President Mikheil Saakashvili and his allies. Saakashvili slammed Ivanishvili on April 23 for saying, in remarks to the […]
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(Interfax – TBILISI. April 17, 2013) Georgian State Minister for Reintegration Paata Zakareishvili has accused President Mikheil Saakashvili for provoking Russia into occupying the territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia and then recognizing their independence. “For instance, in line with international agreements, Georgia did not have the right to deploy its troops in the Kodori Gorge of Abkhazia controlled by […]
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(Interfax – TBILISI. April 17, 2013) A member of the Georgian parliamentary majority harshly criticized some of President Mikheil Saakashvili’s recollections of details of the August 2008 war with Russia over South Ossetia in an interview shown on Rustavi-2 television. “Saakashvili’s statement that the United States considered the possibility of bombarding the Roki Tunnel during the August war will certainly […]
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(Eurasia Daily Monitor: Volume 10, Issue 72 – Jamestown Foundation – jamestown.org – Vladimir Socor – April 17, 2013) Georgia’s Prosecutor-General Archil Kbilashvili (formerly a legal counsel to the current Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili), Justice Minister Tea Tsulukiani (who does not have a formal degree in law), Georgian Dream parliamentary majority leader Davit Saganelidze, and Defense Minister Irakli Alasania are […]
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(RIA Novosti – TBILISI, April 17, 2013) Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili said on Tuesday he was not against mending diplomatic relations with Russia that were severed several years ago. “I am one of those supporting the improvement of these relations. It was my initiative to lift the visa regime with Russia so that more Russian tourists could visit Georgia,” Saakashvili […]
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(Interfax – TBILISI. April 16, 2013) If Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili does not want to be questioned on the South Ossetian-Georgian conflict in August 2008, then he cannot be, Georgia’s chief prosecutor Archil Kbilashvili said. “The president is untouchable and there are no judicial mechanisms which would permit him to be interrogated,” Kbilashvili told reporters on Tuesday. Georgian Prime Minister […]
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(Interfax – TBILISI, April 15, 2013) A vast majority of Georgians approve of the government’s plan to resume exports of wine, mineral water and agricultural produce to Russia, an opinion poll suggests. Current Georgian-Russian talks on the resumption of such exports were acceptable to 84% of respondents and unacceptable to only 3% of respondents in a recent survey by the […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Alexander Bratersky – April 12, 2013) As Russia’s relationship with Georgia warms up after the new Georgian Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili assumed power in Tbilisi, Moscow will host its long awaited Georgian guest, the famous Rustavi ensemble. Rustavi, a folk dance and chorus group, will perform in Russia on Thursday after a 10-year absence. “We […]
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(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, April 11, 2013) Russia likes the Georgian government’s pragmatism and is ready to expand ties with the South Caucasus country, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said. “The pragmatism with which Bidzina Ivanishvili’s government addresses [bilateral] relations appeals to us,” Lavrov told Russian television channel RTVi. “We are ready to expand not only trade… but also […]
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(Voice of America – James Brooke – April 11, 2013) A foreign correspondent who has reported from five continents, Brooke, known universally as Jim, is the Voice of America bureau chief for Russia and former Soviet Union countries. From his base in Moscow, Jim roams Russia and Russia’s southern neighbors. In the aftermath of the 2008 Russia-Georgia war, Russia recognized […]
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(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Helena Bedwell – April 10, 2013) Georgian Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili wants to question President Mikheil Saakashvili over the country’s five-day war with Russia in 2008, a probe that may lead to legal proceedings against Saakashvili. The president and the government “acted inadequately” and the Georgian army acted before Russian forces crossed the border during the […]
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(Interfax – TBILISI, April 8, 2013) The return of Georgian wine, mineral water, fruit, vegetables and other produce to Russia is going successfully and supplies might resume by June, Georgian Minister of Agriculture David Kirvalidze said at a briefing on Monday. “We have stepped forward in both directions,” Kirvalidze said when commenting on the second inspection the Russian consumer rights […]
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(Interfax – TBILISI, April 4, 2013) Akhmed Zakayev, formerly known as a Chechen separatist emissary, has accused Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili’s entourage of arming and training a group of Chechen saboteurs and planning to send them to Russia in 2012. “People from Saakashvili’s inner circle brought a group of Chechens from Europe, organized their training, provided them with weapons and […]
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From: “Ariel Cohen” <Ariel.Cohen@heritage.org> Subject: INVITATION: Kennan Institute Caucasus Railroads and Pipelines Conference April 2, 9:30AM-2PM Date: Tue, 26 Mar 2013 Dear Friends: I am honored to invite you to the following event, at which I co-chair a panel. If you do not live in the Washington, D.C. area, our apologies. Feel free to forward to your friends in the […]
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TBILISI,. March 15 (Interfax) – Georgian citizens welcome the government’s steps to normalize relations with Russia, said the Georgian prime minister’s special envoy for Russia Zurab Abashidze. “More than 80% of Georgian citizens polled support the process of finding a way out of the impasse in relations with Russia, and creating a more positive atmosphere in them, which is actually […]
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[Russia & Georgia: wine tasting – Financial Times – Isabel Gorst – March 7, 2013 – http://blogs.ft.com/beyond-brics/2013/03/06/russia-georgia-wine-tasting/] The Financial Times covers preparations to lift Russia’s ban on Georgian wine and mineral water imports, as the two countries look towards trade as an initial foundation for improved relations: Sanitary inspectors in Russia look set to lift a ban on Georgian wine […]
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(RFE/RL -– rferl.org – Robert Coalson – March 1, 2013) Eighty-one-year-old Nikolai Khasig was born in Sukhumi in 1932. It was just one year after Soviet dictator Josef Stalin stripped Abkhazia of its short-lived status as a full-fledged republic of the USSR and made it a region of Soviet Georgia. At the end of 1936, Lavrenty Beria — at that […]
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(International Relations and Security Network (ISN) – www.isn.ethz.ch – Aglaya Snetkov for the ISN – February 25, 2013) Aglaya Snetkov is a senior researcher at the Center for Security Studies (CSS). Despite the attempts by Western powers to penetrate the Caucasus, Russia continues to exert unmatched influence over the region. In today’s Questions and Answers presentation, the CSS’ Aglaya Snetkov […]
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MOSCOW, February 25 (RIA Novosti) – Moscow reiterated its position on the normalization of ties with Tbilisi on Monday, saying it was not ready to discuss the issue of the breakaway republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, despite a move toward improved relations between the two sides. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin reiterated Russia’s interest in normalizing its ties […]
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(RIA Novosti – Fyodor Lukyanov – February 14, 2013) Fyodor Lukyanov is Editor-in-Chief of the Russia in Global Affairs journal an authoritative source of expertise on Russian foreign policy and global developments – http://eng.globalaffairs.ru] Georgia has most likely entered the final stage of its political transformation. The next few weeks will show whether President Mikheil Saakashvili, whose term ends […]
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MOSCOW. Feb 12 (Interfax) – A total of 69 Georgian wine and mineral water producers have applied to export product to Russia, Russian consumer safety watchdog Rospotrebnadzor said. “All of the documents received have been forwarded to Rospotrebnadzor experts for study. Priority will be given to those 31 organizations that have submitted information for the documentary check in full. The […]
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(Caucasus Reporting Service – Issue 674 – IWPR Institute for War & Peace Reporting – iwpr.net – Sofo Bukia) From: “IWPR Institute for War & Peace Reporting” <mailing@iwpr.net> Subject: Caucasus Reporting Service – Issue 674 Date: Tue, 5 Feb 2013 Despite their election defeat last October, President Mikhail Saakashvili’s political allies want the Georgian constitution to be changed to force […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Nikolaus von Twickel – February 5, 2013) Georgian wine and mineral water could return to Russian store shelves as early as this spring, Russia’s chief sanitary official said Monday. Moscow will send teams of sanitary inspectors to facilities in Georgia, Gennady Onishchenko told reporters. If they approve local quality levels, producers can register in Russia […]
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MOSCOW. Jan 30 (Interfax) – The attempts of the new Georgian authorities to improve relations with Russia have affected the attitudes of Russians toward that country, sociological studies indicate. Presently, the number of positive comments on Georgia exceeds the number of negative, sociologists from the Levada Center told Interfax on Wednesday. Thus, while in January last year 36% of Russians […]
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TALLINN. Jan 31 (Interfax) – Georgia’s foreign minister made assurances on Wednesday that her country would stick to its policy of seeking membership in the European Union and NATO. “Both for Estonia and for Georgia, joining the European Union is primarily a security issue, but, of course, it would help revise the Georgian economy as well,” an Estonian government statement […]
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(Business New Europe – www.bne.eu – Molly Corso in Tbilisi – January 31, 2013) In power for just three months, the government of Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili appears to have struck gold in economic relations with Russia: officials in Moscow have tentatively given the green light to resuming Georgian wine and mineral water imports, reopening a major market for Georgian […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Nikolaus von Twickel – January 25, 2013) A cocktail-party chat that lasted only minutes has triggered hopes that the country’s troubled relations with Georgia might be headed for substantial recovery. Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev had a conversation with his Georgian counterpart, Bidzina Ivanishvili, during a reception at the Davos World Economic Forum late Wednesday, Medvedev’s […]
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STRASBOURG. Jan 22 (Interfax) – Problems facing Russian-Georgian relations could be resolved easily if Moscow agreed to give up its “territorial claims”, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili said. “Russia ought to give up its imperial ambitions, its territorial claims, and Georgia should rebuild its territorial integrity,” he said at the winter session of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) in […]
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TBILISI. Jan 12 (Interfax) – Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili has accused Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili of an attempt to change Georgia’s foreign policy. At the ceremony for introducing the new governors, which was held in the presidential palace on Saturday, Saakashvili said Ivanishvili in his recent interview had said that he had to “repel” the attacks of the Western world […]
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[No America in the Caucasus: The False Promise of Westernization in Georgia – Foreign Affairs – Thomas de Waal – December 5, 2012 – click here to read full article] Writing in Foreign Affairs, Thomas De Waal questions whether Georgia could ever be considered “westernized.” He also holds that the story of political transitions involving Mikheil Saakashvili actually shares themes […]
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TBILISI. Jan 1 (Interfax) – Twenty Georgian companies producing wine and mineral water are preparing to resume the deliveries of their output to the Russian market, head of the Center for Georgian-Russian Economic Cooperation Giorgy Seturidze told the press summing up the results of a Monday meeting with representatives of these companies. He said all technical questions related to the […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Jonathan Earle and Alec Luhn – Dec. 14, 2012) On the eve of the next major anti-government protest, investigators announced that they had evidence that a Georgian politician helped organize violent clashes at a May 6 protest in Moscow. Givi Targamadze, a close ally of Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, “managed” opposition leaders responsible for the […]
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[PM’s Envoy to Meet Russian Diplomat ‘Informally’ – Civil Georgia – Dec. 12, 2012 – http://www.civil.ge/eng/article.php?id=25533] Civil Georgia covers plans for Georgia and Russia to have informal diplomatic talks, possibly in Switzerland. The two sides apparently are already in direct contact, for the purpose of setting up the meetings: Georgian PM’s special representative for relations with Russia, Zurab Abashidze, said […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Nikolaus von Twickel – Dec. 6, 2012) BRUSSELS Two months after an opposition party swept elections in Georgia, NATO on Tuesday reconfirmed its 2008 decision to treat the nation as a future member but expressed concern about its democratic development. “Georgia’s commitment to NATO is solid. And NATO’s commitment to Georgia remains just as […]
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(Interfax – Dec. 2, 2012) Georgia believes it is necessary to start resuming dialogue with Russia despite radical disagreements regarding Abkhazia’s and South Ossetia’s status. “We believe we should look for common interests without preconditions, especially such that rule out the possibility of dialogue. We are sure that the settlement of problems between Georgia and Russia are in the interests […]
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(Georgia eyes double-digit growth, renewed Russia ties – Reuters – Margarita Antidze – Nov. 26, 2012 – http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/26/us-georgia-economy-idUSBRE8AP0NE20121126) Reuters covers Georgia’s expressed need for increased economic growth in the face of unemployment and low per capita GDP, with one hope being that trade with Russia will play a part: Georgia’s new economy minister says his country, beset by high unemployment […]
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MOSCOW. Nov 29 (Interfax) – Russia is ready to cooperate with the new Georgian authorities, if they take into account Russia’s decision on the recognition of Abkhazia’s and South Ossetia’s independence, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said. “This is not the easiest path, but Russia has always said that we are ready for dialog with the new Georgian authorities, but […]
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TBILISI. Nov 28 (Interfax) – U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Eric Rubin discussed relations between Tbilisi and Moscow with Georgian Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili at a meeting at the Georgian State Chancellery behind closed doors, the prime ministerial press service reported on Tuesday. Ivanishvili said following the meeting that he hoped for the U.S. […]
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TBILISI. Nov 23 (Interfax) – Another holiday will be marked in Georgia this year instead of the Rose Revolution anniversary for the first time since 2003. The government led by Mikheil Saakashvili came to power in Georgia following the resignation of President Eduard Shevardnadze on November 23, 2003. This date has been marked officially as the Rose Revolution anniversary, but […]
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TBILISI. Nov 19 (Interfax) – The Georgian Ministry of Culture and Monument Protection does not intend to revise the status or name of the Soviet Occupation Museum functioning in Tbilisi, a ministry statement says. With the change of government in Georgia activist groups have stepped up efforts in the past few weeks demanding that the museum be closed or renamed. […]
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(Voice of America – James Brooke – November 3, 2012 – James Brooke is VOA Moscow bureau chief, covering Russia and the former USSR) Vladimir Putin is suffering back pains and is cancelling foreign trips and his annual November press conference marathon. He may also be suffering from a foreign policy migraine: multi-party democracy is alive and well in the […]
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(“Georgia Appoints Special Envoy for Relations with Russia Civil Georgia” – Civil Georgia – November 1, 2012 – http://www.civil.ge/eng/article.php?id=25407) Civil Georgia reports that Georgian Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili has created a new post of Special Representative for Relations with Russia, appointing Zurab Abashidze, former ambassador to Moscow, to the position. Abashidze is to report directly to Ivanishvili. Ivanishvili touts the […]
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TBILISI. Oct 18 (Interfax) – Billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, Georgia’s likely next prime minister, insisted on Thursday that NATO speed up his country’s process of accession to the North Atlantic alliance now that the nation has carried out democratic parliamentary elections, a condition for joining the organization. “NATO should now take practical steps to enable Georgia to join the alliance as […]
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Church’s Muscle Helped Propel President’s Rivals to Victory in Georgia – New York Times – Ellen Barry – October 14, 2012 – http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/14/world/europe/churchs-muscle-aided-win-of-presidents-rivals-in-georgia.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 Ellen Barry writes on the Eastern Orthodox church in Georgia and its views of politics and recent elections: “As sharply contested parliamentary voting approached in Georgia last week, the country’s Orthodox patriarch implemented his own peculiar pre-election […]
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Date: Tue, 9 Oct 2012 From: Sergei Roy <SergeiRoy@yandex.ru> Subject: Anatoly Karlin JRL #176 [re Georgia] Re Anatoly Karlin JRL #176, 8 October 2012 By Sergei Roy I must congratulate Mr. Karlin on his excellent analysis of the politics involved in the recent parliamentary election in Georgia, its causes and consequences. A few comments are due, though. Politics and politicking, […]
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Georgian tycoon expects NATO entry after poll victory – Reuters – Margarita Antidze – October 9, 2012 click here to read original article: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/09/us-georgia-election-idUSBRE8980S220121009 Reuters covers predictions by Georgia’s next likely prime minister, Bidzina Ivanishvili, that Georgia will soon join NATO, rather than come under Russian influence. Ivanishvili’s party won recent parliamentary elections. “We are striving towards Europe and Georgia […]
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Does the Georgian Election Signal a New paradigm? – us-russia.org – October 8, 2012 “us-russia.org” presents a panel anthology on the aftermath of the Georgia election, featuring Vlad Sobell, Edward Lozansky, Patick Armstrong, Sergei Roy, Anatoly Karlin, and Slava Kolodyazhniy. In Georgia’s October 1 parliamentary election President Mikheil Saakashvili’s United National Movement was defeated, paving the way for Georgia’s first-ever […]
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TBILISI, October 8 (RIA Novosti )- The new Georgian government will implement a plan to improve relations with Moscow, while maintaining its policy of pro-Western orientation, Foreign Minister designate Maya Panjikidze said on Monday. “There is a specific plan and idea on how to improve relations with Russia,” Panjikidze said. The aim of the Georgian Foreign Ministry is “to improve […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – October 8, 2012) Maia Panjikidze, nominated on Monday as Georgia’s next foreign minister, vowed that the country’s foreign policy would not change and predicted that it would take years to normalize relations with Russia. “This is the decision of the Georgian people: to integrate with European and Euro-Atlantic organizations; to continue and deepen the strategic […]
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Paul Goble – Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 13 Issue: 19 – Jamestown Foundation – jamestown.org – October 4, 2012 The final results of the Georgian parliamentary elections were not announced yet when President Mikhail Saakashvili conceded that his party lost the majority of the vote; Bidzina Ivaanishvili has begun talks about forming a government and suggested that Saakashvili resign as […]
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