Georgia

The election of the former pro-Russian vice-president Alexander Ankvab as president of Abkhazia, Georgia's contested breakaway province to the West, raises the spectre of increasing tensions between Moscow and Tbilisi. The incoming president, elected on August 26, has already signalled his firm commitment to a pro-Russian foreign policy, potentially looking to lift an existing ban on apartment sales to Russian citizens. Despite growing calls from the international community to normalise relations with Georgia, we view the latest election as further complicating already tense relations between Russia and Georgia following the brief war fought in August 2008.

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