Exploring ways of having OSCE presence on the ground among the issues to be discussed in Georgia, Ireland's FM says.

Tyszkiewicz: “So far, we can neither confirm nor deny allegations of illegal armed groups in Western Georgia.”

The Georgian Deputy FM laid out some details of the ongoing Swiss-mediated talks with Russia.

“There is a resource for an agreement and I am hopeful in this regard,” a senior ruling party MP said.

Interview with three co-chairs of Geneva Discussions ahead of fourteenth round of talks.

Interview with EU’s Special Representative for South Caucasus Peter Semneby.

Interview with leader of opposition Alliance for Georgia.

Temur Iakobashvili, a newly appointed State Minister for Reintegration said Russia can play a positive role in resolving conflicts in Georgia.

Interview with MP Giga BokeriaAn influential lawmaker from the ruling National Movement Party, Giga Bokeria, said in an interview with Civil.Ge on October 30, three days before the opposition’s planned large-scale protest rally in Tbilisi, that there would be no compromise over elections date.

Georgia should reject stereotypes in respect of Iran and build more pragmatic relations with this “important neighbor” in the region, Georgian analysts say after meeting with Iranian officials.

Interview with Vladimer PapavaA lawmaker from the ruling National Movement party, Vladimer Papava, spoke with Civil.Ge about reasons why he thinks that setting up of a free economic zone is not a good idea for Georgia. Papava also spoke out against abuse of property rights and inflation.

Interview with IMF Resident RepresentativeTentative projections set foreign direct investments in Georgia at the level of at least  USD 1.2 billion in 2007, which is “slightly higher” than those of last year, Robert Christiansen, IMF Resident Representative in Tbilisi, said in an interview with Civil.Ge on March 1. But he also said that twelve-month inflation rate rose from 8.78 percent in December to 10.44 in January.

Q&A with Davit UsupashviliSeven opposition parties - New Rights, Republican, Conservative, Industrialist, Labor, Freedom and People’s Forum – have teamed up to jointly challenge the government’s policy over various issues. Civil Georgia interviewed the leader of the Republican Party, Davit Usupashvili, on July 12 on the goals of this grouping.

Q&A with Ghia NodiaRecent and multiple attacks by the opposition over various problems have resulted in a major headache for the Georgian authorities. Head of the think-tank Caucasian Institute for Peace, Democracy and Development (CIPDD) Ghia Nodia said in an interview with Civil Georgia on March 15 that Sandro Girgvliani’s high-profile murder case has triggered “the most serious crisis” for the authorities since the developments in South Ossetian in the summer of 2004, when clashes erupted between Georgian troops and S.Ossetian militias.

Q&A with Head of IMF Middle East and Central Asian DepartmentA mission of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) paid a fact-finding visit to Georgia on February 8-15 to assess the current economic situation in the country and discuss Georgia’s performance under the Poverty Reduction and Economic Growth Program (PREGP), through which Georgia has already received USD 60 million between 2004-2005.Civil Georgia interviewed John Wakeman-Linn, Division Chief at the IMF’s Middle East and Central Asian Department, who led the mission, on February 14 about the details of findings of this visit. John Wakeman-Linn said that one of the challenges facing the Georgian government in terms of economic policy is the continuing need to improve the business environment.

In an interview with Civil Georgia on November 21 leader of the right-centrist opposition Republican Party Davit Usupashvili said that tendency of establishment of authoritarian-style of governance, for which legitimate goal prevails over the procedural democracy has become one of the trends of the Georgian politics after the Rose Revolution. He also said that the weakness of the opposition is just “a myth” which has emerged against the background of the ruling National Movement party, which, as he said, is totally backed by “the state machinery.” He also criticized the authorities’ strategy of conflict resolution issues and said that without winning hurts and minds of Abkhazians and Ossetians, it will be impossible to restore the country’s territorial integrity.

Regional analysts Zeyno Baran, who is Director of International Security and Energy Programs at the Washington-based Nixon Center, says that continuation of reforms will be a major challenge for Saakashvili’s administration in domestic politics, while internationally, Georgia will have to find “understanding with Russia.”Civil Georgia interviewed Zeyno Baran on November 22 on the sideline of the Tbilisi Forum "Europe's New Wave of Liberation” marking the second year anniversary of the Rose Revolution. She said that despite shortcomings, mainly in the defense reform, the government “has done enormous amount of work.” She also spoke about the Tbilisi’s conflict resolution strategy and said that all the governmental officials should “stick” to the President Saakashvili's line of peaceful settlement of conflicts.

An influential parliamentarian from the ruling National Movement party Giga Bokeria spoke in an interview with Civil Georgia about the authorities’ short-term plans and initiatives, which are scheduled to be considered by the Parliament in the near future. He said despite breakthroughs in number of problematic issues, two years after the Rose Revolution the country is in urgent need to reform judiciary system and creation of a flexible bureaucracy. MP Bokeria also spoke about the conflict resolution strategy and said that the authorities are “deliberately” adhering to the policy of military rhetoric mixed with peaceful initiatives. “Our supreme goal is to use all the possible political instruments to solve [Abkhaz and South Ossetian conflicts], if there is any such opportunity left. But, unfortunately, we have no serious ground for optimism,” MP Bokeria said.

After being sacked from office, ex-Foreign Minister Salome Zourabichvili announced plans to set up a public movement which will focus on mobilization of civil society initiatives and which “probably will grow into a new political party” sometime in the future. Salome Zourabichvili, who spoke with Civil Georgia on October 24, says that she prefers to distance herself from the existing political parties but does not rule out cooperation with the individual political figures. She also spoke about her vision of Georgia’s European way of development, the country’s short-term foreign policy threats and opportunities, and also spoke out against the passiveness of international institutions in conflict resolution issues. While speaking about the country’s internal policy, Zourabichvili said that there is no balance of power in Georgia, adding that “sometimes the Parliament is much more powerful than it should be.”