Printer-friendly versionSend to friendPDF version

Tbilisi mayor and key regime figure Gigi Ugulava has appeared to concede ground to Russian arguments that Georgia is part of its northern neighbour's "sphere of influence" by telling the Russian edition of US magazine Newsweek that the ruling party would drop plans to join the NATO defence pact if Russia withdrew its troops from Abkhazia and from around Tskhinvali.

As mayor of Tbilisi Ugulava is often seen as the ruling party's leading young prince and likely candidate for president when and if Mikheil Saakashvili leaves office in 2013. However he is generally thought to have had a "bad war" during the conflict with Russia in 2008: accused of behaving as though he was a military commander in Gori and then disappearing when it was clear that Russian forces had intervened and won the upper hand in the contest.

Previously almost all forces in Georgia have agreed that NATO membership is crucial to Georgia's future and its drive to Euro-Atlantic integration. No senior regime figure has ever suggested that Georgia's sovereignty is up for negotiation in the way Ugulava has appeared to suggest.

It remains to be seen how the president will react to this latest statement from the mayor.

Update: We have now made it clear this is Russian language edition of Newsweek - see here.