Official Promises Republic Of Georgia Has Contained Swine Fever

A series of measures have prevented a major spread of African swine fever following an outbreak in the republic of Georgia, the deputy agriculture minister told the Associated Press. The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization had warned that the disease could have a catastrophic economic impact unless it was contained. [More]

CzechRep dismisses Russian accusation of breach of CFE treaty

The Czech Republic dismisses Russian accusations that it does not honour its commitments under the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) of 1999, at an extraordinary international conference on CFE today.

Veronika Smigolova-Kuchynova, Czech Foreign Ministry department head, resolutely dismissed the accusation which Russia made in its opening statement at the conference as well as in the diplomatic note in which it asked for the conference to be convoked. Smigolova-Kuchynova said the Czech Republic honours all national ceilings set in the treaty for particular weapons systems and that it repeatedly informed the international public about this in the past. [More]

Saakashvili: France is Georgia’s 'Very Strong Ally'

France is Georgia’s “very strong ally” in Europe, President Saakashvili said after a meeting with his French counterpart, Nicolas Sarkozy, in Paris on June 13. The meeting was described as “fantastic.”

“In general we have always enjoyed France’s support, but now the situation has radically changed and this support has become more concrete in absolutely all fields,” Saakashvili said. He said President Sarkozy was “a politician in a really strong position in Europe.” [More]

NATO makes concession to Russia on arms treaty

In a major step to address the aftermath of the Cold War, NATO is expected to argue Thursday that it will meet Russia halfway on its objections to a key conventional arms treaty that Moscow says has hindered its effort to tamp down violence in Chechnya.

In return for reconsidering Russian troop levels along its flanks, NATO first wants Russia to implement the adapted treaty. This entails pulling its remaining troops out of Georgia as well as Moldova, where Russia has stationed troops and ammunition dumps. [More]

Czech Republic promises to back Georgia completely

The Czech Republic promises to back Georgia completely in recovering territorial sovereignty and becoming a member of Euro-Atlantic structures.

Prime Minister of Czech Republic made this statement after holding a meeting with Zurab Noghaideli. Mirek Topolanek excluded the possibility of matching the Kosovo model to Abkhazia and South Ossetia. [More]

New ambitious benchmarks: Georgia hosting 200,000 tourists

Within the framework of the development assistance programs to Georgia, Greece has begun implementing a fascinating development project in the field of tourism.

Between June 5th and 7th, a delegation from the Ministry of Tourism of the Hellenic Republic (Greece) along with the President of the Greek Organization of Vocational Tourism Training, visited Georgia to interface with interested stakeholders and get a glimpse of the tourism potential that Georgia could offer. During the visit, discussions were held on a project concerning the development in Tourism in Georgia to be financed by Greek Aid in the framework of Georgian-Greek cooperation. The Department of Tourism of the Ministry of Economic Development of Georgia as well as the Ministry of Education Science of Georgia are all taking part in this new and innovative plan to bring out more effective means to facilitate tourism in Georgia, and encourage the masses to explore Georgia as a new major tourist destination point.

“Tourism cooperation between Greece and Georgia is producing excellent results. Tourism is definitely a crucial sector of the Georgian economy and the creation of the school will be a big step forward,” stated Eleftherios Anghelopoulos, the Greek Ambassador to Georgia. [More]

Prime Minister Defends Territorial Integrity

Zurab Noghaideli being interviewed in Prague (RFE/RL)

Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Noghaideli visited RFE/RL's Prague broadcast center today. He sat down with RFE/RL Georgian Service Director David Kakabadze to discuss a number of key developments in the region. Here some excerpts from that conversation.

RFE/RL: Two days ago, the presidents of Georgia and Russia held a meeting in St. Petersburg. Not much is known about the meeting. It was announced that the talk concerned removal of sanctions imposed by Russia and the issue of territorial integrity. The latter topic is now being addressed within the context of Kosovo's status. [More]