Political Tensions To Remain

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili claimed a 'diplomatic victory' on October 1, after the publication of an EU report on the country's 2008 war with Russia, which he claims blamed Russia for the war and showed that Saakashvili was responding to an invasion. However, several Georgian opposition figures accused Saakashvili of distorting the report's findings. Although we note that ongoing tensions between Saakashvili and key opposition figures pose risks to political stability, and that the attempted military coup in May demonstrates that Saakashvili's government faces serious underlying discontent, we nevertheless do not expect a leadership challenge in the short term.

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