VERSIONS: روسيا اليوم NOTICIAS FREEVIDEO ИНОТВ RTД FIND US ON: YouTube Twitter
breakingnews
Go to main page   News   Saakashvili and opposition fail to agree  
MORE ON THE STORY
10.05.2009, 12:57 2 comments

“All mutiny will be punished” – frightened Saakashvili

Georgia has been rocked by the announcement of a possible coup d'etat by an army division. The news hit amid repeated clashes between the police and ongoing opposition rallies.

10.05.2009, 09:17 1 comment

“NATO’s war games in Georgia openly support Saakashvili’s shaky regime” – Putin

In an interview with the Japanese media, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin commented on NATO's war games in Georgia, situation in troubled Afghanistan, North Korean nuclear ambitions and other international thorny issues.

Mikhail Saakashvili 07.08.2009, 22:24 7 comments

Saakashvili was preparing the August war for years – Georgian scholars

Participants in a round table discussion in Tbilisi put the blame on the Saakashvili regime for a series of actions that brought about the August war.

Georgian police clash with opposition protesters in Tbilisi (AFP Photo) 09.07.2009, 19:37 3 comments

Will Georgian opposition outlast the summer?

The political stalemate in Georgia is taking a new twist. The Georgian government has recently worked out a draft law on manifestations – something which the opposition stands firmly against.

Mikhail Saakashvili (AFP photo / Vano Shlamov) 24.02.2009, 15:11 1 comment

‘Either you hold a referendum, or we’ll hold one for you’ – Georgian opposition

The Georgian opposition has presented President Saakashvili with an ultimatum: either he declares a referendum on a snap presidential election within ten days – or they will hold one themselves.

08.05.2009, 11:37

Hands of censorship choke Georgia’s TV сhannel

Georgia’s opposition has set up camp outside the Imedi TV station calling for attention to biased media coverage. In addition, they are threatening to block roads if Saakashvili doesn’t agree to talks in the next 3 days.

25.12.2009, 20:03 1 comment

“Demolition of WWII monument in Georgia is vengeance of sorts”

The results of the EU investigation into the war in 2008 were not favorable for Georgia, and the demolition of the Kutaisi monument is a kind of psychological vengeance for them, believes observer Ekaterina Kuznetsova.

Mikhail Saakashvili (AFP Photo / Victor Drachev) 11.04.2009, 15:34

‘Rabbit’ Saakashvili gets carrots and cabbages

Pressure is growing on Georgia’s president as the opposition is threatening civil disobedience. On Friday, protesters gathered near his residence, pelting it with carrots and cabbage, and calling him “a rabbit."

Georgian opposition wants Mikhail Saakashvili to resign 03.04.2009, 15:58 1 comment

Georgian president hounded by fiery messages

With the upcoming mass opposition rally in Georgia, activists are doing their best to give President Saakashvili the jitters. Outside his residence on Thursday night the message ‘Stop, Misha’ was written in flames.

David Bagrationi-Mukhraneli and Anna Bagrationi-Gruzinski (AFP Photo / Vano Shlamov) 09.02.2009, 06:44

Royal wedding in Georgia captures public imagination

A blue-blood marriage in the Georgian capital Tbilisi has sparked rumours of the beginning of a new chapter in Georgia's history and the restoration of a constitutional monarchy.

Saakashvili and opposition fail to agree

Published: 11 May, 2009, 20:54

Mikhail Saakashvili (C) meets opposition leaders in Tbilisi on May 11, 2009 (AFP Photo / Pool / Irakli Gedenidze)

(5.9Mb) embed video

TAGS: Conflict, Georgia, Protest, Politics, Saakashvili


A two-hour meeting between President Mikhail Saakashvili and the leaders of Georgia's opposition has yielded no results. This comes after a month of mass protests demanding he step down.

The talks took place behind closed doors in the Interior Ministry, with representatives of the Alliance for Georgia, Georgia's Path, and National Forum parties participating.

Following the meeting in Tbilisi, Levan Gachechiladze, the opposition leader and former presidential candidate, said:

"He [Saakashvili] believes that everything is fine in the country, but we have a different opinion on that account."

"We will continue our action until our principal demand – Saakashvili's resignation – is met," the opposition leader said.

Later, the opposition held a rally in front of Georgia's parliament building which brought together about 10,000 supporters. They vowed to take the protests nationwide.

“We will keep on fighting for Saakashvili to resign, for freedom of the press and for protection for all our citizens. We seek to achieve our aims in well-devised and peaceful moves,”  the leader of Alliance for Georgia and Georgia’s former UN Ambassador, Irakly Alasania, told the crowd.

The opposition blames President Saakashvili for dragging the country into a crisis because of his actions during the August conflict when he attacked Georgia's then-breakaway republic of South Ossetia in order to return it to Tbilisi's control.

They are also angry at his inability to tackle the dire economic situation in the country and blame him for weakening the country’s democracy.

“Virtual” Saakashvili vows cooperation

Interfax writes that Saakashvili, speaking after Monday’s meeting with four opposition leaders, said he had offered them to chair a commission which would work on a constitutional reform to create a balanced system, “where there will be a place both for a strong president and strong parliament, independent court and where the interests of each Georgian citizen would be protected.”

The Georgian leader said he had offered his opponents cooperation in various state structures. “I would be glad to see opposition representatives on various responsible positions,” he is quoted as saying.

He also said that the sides had agreed to continue talks.

Salome Zurabishvili, Georgia’s former Foreign Minister and one of the opposition leaders, commenting on today’s meeting said “Misha [Saakashvili] has become absolutely virtual”.

“He lives in a virtual world, since speaking during the meeting he was saying absolutely incomprehensible (odd) things which are far from reality.”

Meanwhile, the situation in Georgia remains unstable with two top military officials still being held in connection with an alleged coup plot. A military division was reportedly prevented from moving against the government last week.

Russia is expected to raise the issue of Georgia during its chairmanship of the UN Security Council.

Currently, NATO-led military exercises are being held in the country despite strong criticism from Moscow. The exercise involves servicemen from countries including the U.S., the UK, the United Arab Emirates and Greece.

Russia declined an invitation to take part, saying the event was a provocation and would not ease tensions in the Caucasus region.

Six more countries also turned down the invitation, among them Armenia and Kazakhstan, who are Russian partners in the Collective Security Treaty Organization.

+7 (9 votes)
 
Back to top
next MORE NEWS
image from http://fratria.ru 11.05.2009, 20:20

Spartak revived after unconvincing start

In the Russian Premier League, Spartak Moscow, striving for victories, has made hay of lowly Saturn.

Pope Benedict XVI (AFP Photo / Alberto Pizzoli) 12.05.2009, 02:33 5 comments

Will Jewish community grant Benediction to the Pope?

A sacred controversy is brewing as Pope Benedict XVI has arrived in Israel on Monday, May 11. His first day's itinerary includes a visit to the national Holocaust museum in Jerusalem.

Count Cash May 11, 2009, 19:36
0

He wanted to beat the people, and the opposition didn't He wanted autocratic control and they didn't He wanted to control the media, and they didn't He wanted government for himself and friends, they wanted it for the people So they disagreed!

N. G. Garret May 11, 2009, 17:39
0

Perhaps Saakashvili should take his sack of cash from the USA and his high-priced wife to the USA!! He can always get ties to eat in the USA just like he can in the Republic of Georgia.