The following is an excerpt from Saakashvili's briefing broadcast live by Georgian TV on 20 October; subheadings have been inserted editorially:

"Sabotage group" attacks power grid

[Presenter] This is a special broadcast. We are going live to the Georgian president's news briefing, which has just started.

[Saakashvili, briefing in progress] - moreover, as winter approaches and the weather turns colder, people, naturally, are thinking and worrying about the near future. They are wondering whether they will have electricity, how much they will be earning, whether they will be able to buy warm clothes for their children and themselves and what the future holds for the country in general. These concerns are particularly pressing in autumn.

It is very important for us to keep the public constantly aware of developments in Georgia. First, I would like to speak about the situation in the energy sector. It is directly linked to the problem of Georgia's territorial integrity. We have managed to halt illegal imports from the Tskhinvali region [South Ossetia]. This, together with [the revenues generated in] Ajaria, has contributed an additional several hundred million lari to the country's coffers. We have stopped smuggling. We have reinforced the [ethnic Georgian] villages in the Didi and Patara Liakhvi gorges [in South Ossetia]. That is to say, they can no longer go there and smuggle things out [sentence as heard].

This has resulted in the setting up of a group of saboteurs who have decided to disable Georgia's energy system.

This year, for the first time, we have the money to pay for most of the electricity we use. We have used the money that has been raised to pay off most of the energy debt - the natural gas and electricity debt - accumulated by the previous government. This year Russia's approach to everything has been very principled and strict. And we have not backed off. A good part of this money was spent to pay off these debts. I had a conversation with the head of RAO YeES [Unified Energy Systems of Russia], who told me that there would not be any problems. A contract has been signed.

In the meantime, a group, set up on this territory, has been given a clear order to completely disable Georgia's energy system. They blew up two pylons but failed to knock them down. Unfortunately, a third pylon was brought down. This has caused the current [electricity] crisis in the country.

Our State Security Ministry - I want to speak about this because this concerns everybody, because everybody cares whether they have electricity or not. The State Security Ministry conducts numerous operations which I would not want to discuss. It is not right [to talk about them]. The law is clear about that. The law says that there are secrets that should not be disclosed. This case, however, concerns everyone.

Using state-of-the-art equipment, we located the perpetrators exactly three hours after the pylons were blown up. We imported this equipment because nothing was available to us when we took over [in November 2003]. We sent a special unit there by helicopter and blocked the roads because they were planning to blow up a few more pylons and this would have completely destroyed our energy system and left us practically without electricity in winter. They opened fire and resisted, and were destroyed.

This is very important. Territorial integrity is not just an emotional issue for us. What is happening in the energy sector is [changes tack] - work has been under way for two weeks to restore these lines. A tractor driver has died there while doing this work and I want to express my condolences to his family.

But we will do everything possible to prevent any act of sabotage or terrorism in Georgia, as well as Abkhazia. One third of Enguri [Enguri hydroelectric power plant] is in Gali District, outside our control and the other side takes almost half of the electricity generated there. A few dozen thousand people take almost as much electricity as the 4.5m people living in the rest of Georgia. They then sell what they take in Russia and make money. We then buy this electricity from Russia. Therefore, territorial integrity is not an abstract concept. We must break these fetters to achieve a breakthrough in the country's development.

Naturally, this should be done by peaceful means. The route lies through unity and economic progress. We have chosen this motto because this and the economy are linked. Reforms and territorial integrity are linked. I have given you an excellent example of all of this.

I still think that - last winter was the first winter when Tbilisi had electricity 24 hours a day. This was achieved thanks to our coming to power. I think that the government has promised [changes tack] - we have created an energy headquarters which is working to ensure a 24-hour electricity supply to Tbilisi. I hope that our expectations will be met. The situation with electricity supplies should improve in every region. Next year we should not have any electricity problems at all. However, this requires a huge amount of work and huge investment. And part of this money should go into the energy infrastructure.

That is what I wanted to say about the situation in the energy sphere. I know that you have many questions and I am delighted that there are representatives of newspapers, not just TV stations, here. I would be happy to answer your questions.

Reports of rift in government

[Question] Rustavi-2 TV. Mr President, today you have already touched on the budget problem and said that a consensus would be reached. However, there is an impression that this is not just a debate on the budget. When the prime minister challenges the speaker of the parliament to take part in a TV debate, it must mean that there is a certain level conflict between the second and third most senior officials in the country.

[Saakashvili] I have talked to [Prime Minister Zurab] Zhvania, who tells me that he has not challenged anyone to a TV debate. I did not hear what he actually said. However, one thing is absolutely clear: our discussions do not mean that there is a rift, and political debates are not a bad sign. They are the sign of a normal and sound process and of the fact that Georgia is a democratic country. I welcome the fact that the budget is being so closely scrutinized in parliament because all the decisions that the authorities take should undergo rigorous examination by parliament and especially the public.

I do not take any decision without first discussing and agreeing it with 10 or 15 people. Unless it is something very urgent, I also want to know what the public thinks. Likewise, the government should not and does not take rash decisions.

This is a government that has raised 600m [currency not specified] in extra revenue. Where is this money going? This seems to be the main question today. Above all, it is being spent to pay off debts. We have inherited debts in the energy sector. If we had not paid off debts accumulated by the previous government over 12 years, Georgia would not have received electricity and gas this year because, as soon as they saw that we were getting stronger, all the Russian suppliers suddenly took a very hard line. We have paid off this debt, and that is how part of this money was used.

Another part of it was used to pay off pension debts. Almost 60 per cent of the total pension debt has been cleared since the beginning of this year. We hope to be able to pay off the remainder at the beginning of next year. Seventeen million lari has been spent to clear teachers' pay arrears. Some of them had not been paid for 12 years while others for three or four months.

Everyone who is not blind will be able to see that this money has also been used to repair roads across Georgia, renovate facades, build houses, barracks and various other administrative buildings, renovate schools and so on. Naturally, there is not enough money for everything but a lot is being done in this respect. Most importantly, this money has been used to raise salaries and pensions.

[Passage omitted]

Naturally, everyone is entitled to their own opinion. That is precisely why Georgia is a democratic country, rather than a place where one person decides everything. God forbid, I certainly would not want to have a situation where I have to decide everything. Nor does Zhvania want to decide everything alone. And, God forbid, we do not want parliament to decide everything. That is what the previous parliament used to do. It used to decide everything without asking what the people thought about it.

I think that this government has done a good job. In parliament, we have bright people, and, by the way, they are in various factions. I would like to believe that most of them are in the majority group and the factions linked to it. That is in fact the way it is.

I know one thing for sure. I would bet anything on this happening: they will eventually reach an agreement and pass the budget. That is why I do not think there is any need to argue about it.

Relations with Russia

[Question, in Russian] ITAR-TASS agency. I have two questions on completely different subjects. First, Sergey Lavrov [Russian foreign minister] and several other Russian officials have recently announced that, back in June, or even May, they sent the Georgian leadership in Tbilisi a package of major proposals concerning the settlement of Georgian-Russian relations. They assert that there has been no reply from Tbilisi so far. It was said that they would be pleased with any kind of reply, even if there were things the Georgian government disagreed with. Can you reveal what proposals they are talking about? That is my first question.

[Saakashvili, in Russian] I must say straightaway that we have seen no such package. If there had been a package, we would not have kept it secret from our own people and the people would have known about the existence of such a package. There was merely general talk.

But we believe that it is time we received an official list of demands. Some of them may well be legitimate, and we would welcome it. We would like to see them and start an absolutely frank dialogue. We have always favoured transparency, predictability and closeness in our relations with Russia. Transparency and predictability are the main principles governing all our relations. Everything would be transparent if we received these documents.

Kidnapping of footballer's brother

[Question, in Russian] I remember you saying that you were personally going to monitor the progress of investigations into the kidnapping of [Levan] Kaladze [footballer Kakha Kaladze's brother, kidnapped in 2001]. You are a personal friend of Kakha Kaladze and you regard football as a priority. What is the latest on Levan Kaladze? Is he still alive?

[Saakashvili, in Russian] I hope I am wrong but my forecast has to be pessimistic. If we had come to power earlier, his chances would have been better.

We freed a leading banker some time ago. There have been no kidnappings in Georgia [recently] with the exception of the occasional incident in the Georgian-Ossetian and Abkhaz conflict zones. In the rest of Georgia, such incidents have stopped once and for all.

There have been several kidnapping attempts but we usually thwart them well in advance. We do not wish to play with fire, and we already have enough resources for that.

South Ossetia

[Question] Imedi TV. Mr President, shooting can still be heard in the villages of South Ossetia. People are being forced to leave their villages. What are you going to do about it?

[Saakashvili] I must tell you that I have no reports about people leaving villages. I have information that the villages are well- protected. Naturally, we must ensure that Georgia's territorial integrity is restored. That is the aim of our administration. We must ensure that this happens by peaceful means. At the same time, generally, agencies have to be strengthened, so that there is law and order in Georgia. That is what we are busy doing round the clock. That is why we are reinforcing law-enforcement agencies. That is why the best part of our society is training as reservists.

Some people are asking: what are deputies doing in reserve battalions, why are they putting out forest fires? Well, in the past, deputies never did anything like that. It used to be that, not only deputies, but even their distant relatives would not do military service.

Now everyone should be able to see it happening. Naturally, only 3 per cent of them [reservists] are deputies, but everyone should be able to see that they include deputies as well as the president's brother. If my son had been old enough, he would have joined them too.

[Passage omitted]

Your question was about the situation in Tskhinvali [South Ossetia]. I must say that these villages are extremely well- protected at present. But we will eventually make sure that there are no longer hornet's nests [as heard] left in Georgia. We are getting ready for that. We are getting ready every day by strengthening our economy and making sure that the people are more optimistic about the economy.

That is why we have declared a tax amnesty. Why? Because people should not be afraid. We are not arresting businessmen. No-one should be afraid. We do arrest policemen who plant drugs on suspects and we do arrest [corrupt] judges and prosecutors. That is the job of the state because such people effectively destroy state institutions. However, no businessman has been arrested in Georgia. No instructions to that effect have or will be issued. I want people to invest in the economy with confidence.

[Passage omitted]

[Question] Radio Imedi. I would like to continue with the Tskhinvali theme. It has already been decided that [South Ossetian separatist leader Eduard] Kokoiti and Zhvania will meet in Sochi on 7 November, if I am not mistaken. What does the Georgian side expect from this?

[Saakashvili] I do not know if this has been decided or not. To tell you the truth, I am more preoccupied with stopping new sabotage attacks and stopping new groups coming and going. We have all the necessary means at our disposal in order to do that.

We can only talk to them about one thing: a legal settlement of the situation. We are not going to set up a travel agency for separatists, so that they can meet us in Geneva, Sochi and other resorts. Tskhinvali is just an hour and a half's drive from Tbilisi. If they so wish, I can go to Tskhinvali and meet anyone there. That is it. That is the end of these games. They will no longer be able to talk to us like this. Our boys did not give their lives in the summer in order for someone to continue presenting us with ultimatums. We want a peaceful resolution but we will not allow any acts of provocation to take place.

Just as security services destroyed this group and thwarted the activities of three or four other groups - there are other plans which, naturally, I am not going to discuss in advance; potentially, there are some groups - so we will take tough action to thwart any attempted act of sabotage, let alone terrorism. This is no longer a God-forsaken country which evil people can take control of.

Law and order is the main issue. Many people do not like it, but that is the way it is. Order should be established in government agencies. There should be supremacy of the law and everyone should be equal before the law. This applies, among others, to possible terrorists, separatists and so on.

Russia putting pressure on Georgia

There is a lot of pressure on us. The closure of Lars [Russian border post] is nothing other than a means of exerting pressure. However, I think that we should learn - I have just been to the Baltic states and saw it there - to have good relations with our neighbours and we should learn how to diversify our exports, how to export our wine to other markets and how to package our agricultural produce in such a way that it sells in Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey, Kazakhstan and so on. Naturally, we should also reclaim the Russian market, but we should never allow ourselves to be in a position where we are totally dependent on exports to just one market or on one supplier.

We will achieve it stage by stage.

The main goal is for Georgia to be independent as far as the energy sector and the market are concerned. We are working every day towards this goal. Having gone through 12 years of troubles, we will not be able to achieve it overnight. However, I think that, thanks to this tax code and our genuine desire to put the tax amnesty into practice - [changes thought] The last question please.

Rejects criticism of new Ajarian leader

[Question] Nino Giorgobiani, Channel One. Should we expect a government reshuffle in the near future? There are reports about plans to replace the defence minister and move [Ajarian leader] Levan Varshalomidze to a job in Tbilisi.

[Saakashvili] I know that many people do not like Levan Varshalomidze. It appears that Aslan Abashidze was nicer than him, more attractive, more sensible, more respectable; as a great Georgian patriot, he apparently had nothing to do with separatism, he never armed anyone or blew up bridges. Generally, he was a fine man. People who used to claim that Abashidze was a patriot do not like Varshalomidze. But I judge everyone by their performance, rather than by whether or not they are friends and relatives. I think that everyone has now realized this.

I asked this man to build roads as quickly as possible. He built both roads through Kobuleti in the summer. He has already completed one and is about to complete the other. He has built a road to Sarpi. He has improved the situation in the customs service. He has improved the condition of roads in the mountains of Ajaria. He has resumed the construction of the tunnel and has secured a contract to build water supply and sewage facilities in Batumi. I cannot judge the performance of a governor by any other criteria. He has also started privatization and has done some other useful things. [Passage omitted]

Very important and interesting reforms are about to start at the Ministry of Defence. Very interesting things will happen in the defence sphere, starting in January. I certainly have no intention of announcing what exactly they will be, but it is a fact that the consolidation of the army has taken place in Georgia. The army now looks like a proper army. European-standard barracks capable of accommodating more than 10,000 people have been built. A lot of equipment has been purchased. We already have it and it will be displayed when we decide to hold the next parade. All this is linked to the activities of the current leadership of the Ministry of Defence.

I know why there are so many rumours. When nothing dramatic is happening - apart for everyday problems, naturally - many people start speculating on various topics. There are rumours of conflicts, rifts, sackings, appointments and so on. If you believe the newspapers, Vano Merabishvili, who is really doing a splendid job and is an excellent security minister, has been sacked 14 times in the past month and a half. That is what happens when you have a free press. The problem is that perhaps we do not see each other often enough.

[Passage omitted]

Many people did not expect us to make the progress we have made in the past eight months. This happened at a time when we did not receive much foreign aid. Aid programmes were suspended and the bureaucratic procedures necessary to resume them take time. Aid will start arriving next year. Also, all this happened at a time when we had to pay off debts. Seventy per cent of the extra revenue was used to pay off old debts. Otherwise, we would have been unable even to think of any progress. All this is happening at a time when it is still very hard to persuade anyone in the world that Georgia is a stable and calm country that has firmly embarked on a path of peaceful and normal development.

We will need the outside world to have faith in us because we are certainly determined to reclaim a place on the world map. Then, we will also have more faith in our own strength. I am sure that this will happen and we will see the results.