Georgian president agrees to crisis talks

GEORGIA’S PRESIDENT has agreed to meet opposition leaders today to seek an end to a political crisis that has triggered weeks of protests, street clashes and an alleged mutiny at a military base.

More than 10,000 Georgians rallied in the centre of the capital, Tbilisi, on Saturday to mark a month of demonstrations against Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili, whom they accuse of mishandling last August’s disastrous war with Russia, of failing to eradicate poverty and corruption, and of suppressing critical voices in politics and the media. Opposition leaders called for talks with Mr Saakashvili following fighting last week between police and protesters, which injured about 30.

Those clashes came after officials said they had quashed a Russian-backed revolt at an army tank base outside Tbilisi, which was allegedly intended to undermine controversial Nato exercises currently taking place in Georgia.

In a statement, Mr Saakashvili offered to meet organisers of the rallies at 2pm today, and expressed his “hope that the Georgian government, together with all political forces, will be able to jointly overcome the problems that exist in the country”.

Georgian media reported that four opposition leaders would meet Mr Saakashvili: former presidential candidate Levan Gachechiladze; former envoy to the UN Irakli Alasania; ex-foreign minister Salome Zurabishvili; and National Forum party leader Kakha Shartava.

“I would encourage all these parties to show the utmost patience while we’re working through this dialogue. This is a process that may take time,” Mr Alasania said after meeting parliamentary speaker David Bakradze for preliminary talks on the crisis.

“We believe that the best outcome can be the achievement of free and fair elections for president and parliament, but we also understand there are issues the government wants to discuss with us and we are prepared to hear these issues.”

Mr Saakashvili came to power through the Rose Revolution in 2003, when he ousted a Soviet-era old guard and made Georgia the West’s leading ally in the Caucasus region, which lies on a key energy export route and is regarded by Russia as being within its own “sphere of influence”.