DFWatch staff 
TBILISI, DFWatch–South Ossetia’s ultimatum to Georgia to remove a checkpoint was not fulfilled, but the deadline passed without incident Friday. Another meeting was held within the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM) in the village of Tsnelisi, and like Thursday’s meeting it ended without agreement, but the parties agreed to continue the dialogue. Meanwhile, Tskhinvali … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch–The situation along the de facto border of South Ossetia further worsened on Thursday after representative of breakaway authorities put forward an ultimatum to Georgia to dismantle a checkpoint at the village Chorchana, in Khashuri municipality. If Georgia doesn’t dismantle the checkpoint by 6 am Friday morning, Tskhinvali authorities will “resort to all lawful … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch–The situation along the de facto border of South Ossetia remains tense as Tskhinvali sent armed forces to prevent the construction of a police checkpoint by the Georgian side. The checkpoint is being built in the vicinity of Georgian village Chorchana. “In connection with the provocative attempts of the Georgian security forces to illegally … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch–There will be a runoff election for de facto president of breakaway Abkhazia on September 8, since none of the candidates received over 50% of votes in the first round on Sunday. Incumbent de facto president Raul Khajimba is in the lead, trailed by Oleg Arshba and Alhaz Kvitsinia, according to preliminary results. Although … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch–Two politicians from the German far-right AfD were among the foreign observers who were present during Sunday’s election for de facto president of Abkhazia. The election was not recognized by Georgia. Among the dozens of international observers to the elections were Stefan Keuter, member of the German Bundestag representing the far-right AfD, Gunnar Norbert … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch–The Georgian breakaway region Abkhazia is holding elections for de facto president on Sunday. Ten candidates are vying for the seat, but none of them stand much of a chance against the incumbent Raul Khajimba, a former KGB operative and close ally of the Kremlin. Aslan Bzhania, a former candidate proposed by a group … Read more
Georgia signs a deal with Irish lowcoster Ryanair, which will launch flights to various destinations from Tbilisi and later from Kutaisi airports, the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development says. Tickets for a new route between Tbilisi and Milan Bergamo are already on sale on the carrier’s website. Flights start on November 6 and will … Read more
The de facto authorities of South Ossetia have released eight Georgian citizens detained on the occupation line. All of them are already in the territory controlled by Georgia’s central authorities. They were handed over to Georgian officials at the abandoned checkpoint in the village of Ergneti, near Tskhinvali on Tuesday. Seven men were detained on … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch–A day after Rustavi 2’s new owner laid out his plans to revamp Georgia’s biggest opposition TV company, the newly appointed director sacks several of its key journalists. The list outlined on Tuesday by Paata Salia, Rustavi 2’s new director, includes the head of its news division Nodar Melia, and news anchor Giorgi Gabunia, … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch–The new owner of Rustavi 2 is not planning to sell his shares. Instead, Kibar Shalvashi plans to develop Georgia’s largest opposition TV channel as a “critical and rigorous” outlet. “I consider it my primary duty to put television freed from Saakashvili into public service and regain confidence, to be critical and rigorous, but … Read more