Georgia: Georgian tycoon expects NATO entry after poll victory

The billionaire who is likely to become Georgia's next prime minister said on Tuesday he was confident the former Soviet republic would soon join NATO.

Bidzina Ivanishvili, whose opposition coalition won a parliamentary election last week, also responded to accusations that he might let Georgia be drawn back into Moscow's orbit by underlining that relations with the West would be a priority.

"We are striving towards Europe and Georgia will definitely be able to become a member of NATO soon," Ivanishvili said after talks with President Mikheil Saakashvili.

"We talked about foreign policy, our visions and so forth. The foreign policies declared by both sides - that Europe and the Euro-Atlantic space represent our strategies - are in accord," he said.

The two rivals looked reserved as they shook hands at the presidential administration building in the capital Tbilisi, their first meeting since the October 1 election.

Read more: Georgian tycoon expects NATO entry after poll victory - World Updates | The Star Online

Georgia Times: Opposition to invigorate their protest

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Opposition to invigorate their protest

Georgian opposition which has been holding large-scale ralliesin favor President Mikheil Saakashvili's resignation since April 9 announces plans to widen their protests and move to periphery. This was recently stated by Movement For United Georgia leader Eka Beselia at a public meeting near the parliament, News Georgia reports. The number of protesters had drastically dropped over the last month resulting in the opposition leaders call for reorganization.

Boston.com/NYT/BBC: Georgia president refuses to resign, lauds democracy

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Georgia president refuses to resign, lauds democracy

A day after tens of thousands of people rallied to demand his resignation, President Mikheil Saakashvili declared yesterday that he would not give up power but said he would do nothing to interfere with continuing protests against his government.Saakashvili offered to begin discussions with opposition leaders to try to lower tensions and to agree on changes to the constitution and government. He emphasized that the peaceful nature of the rally on Thursday proved that Georgia was developing well as a democracy.

BBC reports that his main error, opposition parties say, was to lead the country into war with Russia last year and plunge the country into what they call a crisis.Up to 60,000 people attended Thursday's opposition rally in the capital. Hundreds remained in the city centre overnight. The BBC has discovered evidence that Georgia may have committed war crimes in its attack on its breakaway region of South Ossetia in August. Eyewitnesses have described how its tanks fired directly into an apartment block, and how civilians were shot at as they tried to escape the fighting. Research by the international investigative organization Human Rights Watch also points to indiscriminate use of force by the Georgian military, and the possible deliberate targeting of civilians.

Irish Times: Rivals say they plan to remove Georgian president - by Charles Clover

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Georgia: Rivals say they plan to remove Georgian president - by Charles Clover

Levan Gachechiladze, Mr Saakashvili's former campaign manager, who ran against him in January's presidential elections, said Georgia's political opposition would campaign for elections to be held "at the earliest opportunity", perhaps within two months. "This government has no chance of establishing trust with Georgians," he said. Kakha Kukava, secretary-general of the opposition Conservative party of Georgia, similarly criticised the president for the war. "Saakashvili was personally responsible for the military operation, and for starting a war we could not win," he said, adding that his party would wait until the situation had cooled and then call for mass demonstrations aimed at removing the government.

FT.com - Saakashvili’s Resignation Eminent - Saakashvili’s grip on power in doubt? - by Roman Olearchyk in Tbilisi and Isabel Gorst in Moscow

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Saakashvili’s Resignation Eminent - Saakashvili’s grip on power in doubt? - by Roman Olearchyk in Tbilisi and Isabel Gorst in Moscow

Georgia’s pro-western president Mikheil Saakashvili is a gambling man of sorts, notorious for betting high in Tbilisi’s passionate and cut-throat politics – and usually winning. But by pitting his country’s tiny army against mighty Russia, he may have taken one gamble too far.The fact that Russia hates him so much is a big factor in Mr Saakashvili’s favour in Georgia, but the outcome of the conflict could severely weaken his five-year domination of Georgian politics. If he is blamed for precipitating the Russian onslaught, Georgians could turn against him. What is far less certain is whether any alternative leader would be more accommodating to Moscow. “Maybe the Russians should, indeed, topple him,” said Bella, a middle-aged Georgian woman distraught at this week’s devastation.

Bloomberg.com: Russia, U.S. Trade Rhetorical Salvoes as Georgia Tensions Rise - by Helena Bedwell and Henry Meyer

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Russia, U.S. Trade Rhetorical Salvoes as Georgia Tensions Rise

Russia said the U.S. and other countries that armed and trained Georgia's military share blame for the war there as a top American official said security relations with Moscow may be ``adversely affected for years.'' ``Those who for the sake of their political plans armed and trained the Georgian army, who encouraged the Tbilisi regime's sense that it could do anything and face no punishment, also bear responsibility for what has happened,'' the Russian Foreign Ministry said on its Web site. In the U.S., Defense Secretary Robert Gates said that the war ``called into question the entire premise'' of the U.S.'s strategic relationship with Russia and canceled two joint military exercises with Russia scheduled for this month.

Note EU-Digest : For some reason everyone seems to forget or even wants to mention that Georgia started this conflict. If the Russians overreacted or not is irrelevant. The fact remains that Georgia started all this and that Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, a U.S.-trained attorney regarded by Washington as a pro-democracy "wunderkind", who has made a political career of brinkmanship with neighboring Russia overplayed his hand.To put it more bluntly Mr. Mikheil Saakashvili has become a liability to his own country and the security of Europe.

FT.com - Why Russia’s response to Georgia was right - by Sergei Lavrov

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Why Russia’s response to Georgia was right - by Sergei Lavrov

Last Friday, after the world’s leaders had arrived at the Beijing Olympics, Georgian troops launched an all-out assault on the region of South Ossetia, which has enjoyed de facto independence for more than 16 years. The majority of the region’s population are Russian citizens. Under the terms of the 1992 agreement to which Georgia is a party, they are afforded protection by a small number of Russian peacekeeping soldiers. The ground and air attack resulted in the killing of peacekeepers and the death of an estimated 1,600 civilians, creating a humanitarian disaster and leading to an exodus of 30,000 refugees. The Georgian regime refused to allow a humanitarian corridor to be established and bombarded a humanitarian convoy.There can be little surprise, therefore, that Russia responded to this unprovoked assault on its citizens by launching a military incursion into South Ossetia. No country in the world would idly stand by as its citizens are killed and driven from their homes. Russia repeatedly warned Tbilisi that it would protect its citizens by force if necessary, and its actions are entirely consistent with international law, including article 51 of the UN charter on the right of self-defence. Russia has been entirely proportionate in its military response to Georgia’s attack on Russian citizens and peacekeepers.

Russia’s tactical objective has been to force Georgian troops out of the region, which is off limits to them under international agreements. Mikheil Saakashvili, Georgia’s president, has stated that “unless we stop Russia, unless the whole world stops it, Russian tanks will go to any European capital tomorrow”, adding on a separate occasion that “it’s not about Georgia any more. It’s about America”. It is clear that Georgia wants this dispute to become something more than a short if bloody conflict in the region. For decision-makers in the Nato countries of the west, it would be worth considering whether in future you want the men and women of your armed services to be answerable to Mr Saakashvili’s declarations of war in the Caucasus.

Note EU-Digest: Unfortunately it is becoming more and more clear that Mr Saakashvili does not have all his marbles together and wants to provoke a further deterioration of the conflict In a television address he said today "You have heard the statement by the U.S. president that the United States is starting a military-humanitarian operation in Georgia. This means that Georgian ports and airports will be taken under the control of the U.S. defense ministry in order to conduct humanitarian and other missions. This is a very important statement for easing tension." The US immediately refuted this statement.