EU-DIGEST

Georgian, Polish Presidents Say They Were Shot At Near Russian Checkpoint - "Most people doubt the validity of the report" - by P.P.Pan

The presidents of Georgia and Poland said they encountered gunfire while attempting to visit a Russian checkpoint near the South Ossetian border on Sunday, an assertion Russia immediately denied and described as a provocation and "wishful thinking."

"It seems to be another attempt by Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili to shore-up his dwindling credibility at home and in the EU", said a European diplomat stationed in Georgia.

Labels: EU, Georgia, Poland, Saakashvili

Georgia's Saakashvili wins re-election - by Roman Olearchyk, Catherine Belton,Stefan Wagstyl

Mikhail Saakashvili was re-elected as Georgia's president with 52.8 per cent of the vote, election officials said on Sunday night. The results threatened to inflame tensions in the former Soviet republic, where the opposition has accused his government of falsifying the vote. His main contender, Levan Gachechiladze, received 27 per cent of the ballots in Saturday's election, said Levan Tarkhnishvili, head of the Central Election Commission. Mr Tarkhnishvili said the tally was based on results from nearly all precincts in Georgia, excluding Georgian military personnel serving in peacekeeping operation in Kosovo and Iraq.

Labels: Elections, Georgia, Saakashvili