TSKHINVALI, September 17 – De facto South Ossetia will hold an early presidential election on Friday, nearly three months after its previous leader stepped down to take a job in the Russian presidential administration. Four candidates are running: acting president Marat Kambolov, Zurab Kokoev of the Unity party, Murat Valiev of the Patriots of Alania … Read more
TBILISI, September 16 – Yet another short tenure at the top of Georgia’s powerful State Security Service ended on Wednesday, as parliament approved Tamaz Borashvili as replacement for Gela Geladze, who stepped down two days earlier. Borashvili was backed unanimously by 83 MPs. By law, the State Security Service chief is appointed for six years, … Read more
TBILISI, September 16 – A Tbilisi court on Wednesday sentenced former State Security Service chief Grigol Liluashvili to 13 years in prison for corruption. The judge at Tbilisi City Court found Liluashvili guilty in four cases, involving the Tbilisi kindergarten management agency, fraudulent call centers and two bribery episodes involving former deputy economy minister Romeo … Read more
TBILISI, September 15 – Georgia’s ruling Georgian Dream party says it will ask the Constitutional Court to ban former prime minister Giorgi Gakharia’s party, For Georgia. Majority leader Irakli Kirtskhalia announced the move on Monday, saying the party would be added to a constitutional lawsuit already seeking to outlaw the United National Movement, Coalition for … Read more
TBILISI, September 11 – Former Georgian prosecutor general Otar Partskhaladze is facing a wave of criticism in Georgia after declaring the creation of a volunteer military unit to fight on Russia’s side in Ukraine. Partskhaladze, who now uses the name Otar Romanov-Partskhaladze, said the new unit is called Georgievsky, a reference to the 1783 Treaty … Read more
TBILISI, September 10 – Georgia says it will enforce newly expanded U.S. sanctions that affect airlines currently operating flights between Georgia and Iran. The announcement came Thursday after the United States expanded sanctions against Iran’s aviation sector, including measures targeting companies that continue to support Mahan Air and 27 other Iranian airlines. U.S. Treasury Secretary … Read more
TBILISI, September 9 – Representatives of Georgia and de facto South Ossetia discussed detentions at the dividing line at talks in Ergneti on Tuesday, with little common ground. The meeting of the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism, or IPRM, was as usual held in the village Ergneti, near Tskhinvali. These are regular field meetings, hosted … Read more
TBILISI, September 8 – Georgia’s former chief prosecutor Otar Romanov-Partskhaladze says he has formed a volunteer unit in Russia that will fight on Moscow’s side in the war against Ukraine. Partskhaladze told Russian state news agency TASS on Monday that he had personally decided to join the war effort and had created an international volunteer … Read more
TBILISI, September 7 – Fuel prices have increased sharply in Georgia, adding to inflation and prompting opposition calls for the government to temporarily cut the excise tax on gasoline and diesel. TBC Capital said on Friday that gasoline and diesel were responsible for nearly half of Georgia’s seasonally adjusted monthly inflation in August. Annual inflation … Read more
TBILISI, September 6 – Russian activist Denis Kulanin left Georgia Friday, after a Tbilisi court ordered his expulsion. Kulanin’s departure from Tbilisi International Airport was confirmed by footage released by his lawyer Tsiala Ratiani. Earlier the same day, Tbilisi City Court gave him seven days to leave Georgia voluntarily. The Ministry of Internal Affairs said … Read more