according to some which was persuaded you to follow the russian forces march towards tbilisi. of course not no head of state is capable of talking another head of state into anything look at the world trying to talk him down to giving up with have they persuaded him to do anything you know and i don't think they will but surely he would sooner die in his bunker let me stress this again taking cities was never our goal our goal was to stop the war machine which was at that time aimed at two breakaway territories and regrettably at our citizens what he did was very kind called me and said i heard there was a conflict do you want me to fly over to moscow i said i would be happy to serve him which then he told me i'm currently chairing the e.u. i could come over to discuss the insulin but he's very good at this sort of thing you know and he loves doing it he came to moscow and we talked i explained my position to what he told me i understand and i agree. some things i will be able to say in public some i won't but regardless of that i want to have a part in stopping this conflict

saakashvili your meeting took place in petersburg and there was an impression at that point both in tbilisi and in moscow that we had arrived at some sort of an accord and the dispute would not be allowed to pull over into an armed conflict and i reiterate that this feeling was present both in moscow and in tbilisi could you tell us that he managed to agree on anything with the georgian president back then. that you know catherine i had the same impression at the time but i can still recall meeting president saakashvili for the first time it was in some petersburg we met in the constantine palaces and mr secretary arrived but i told him literally you know there are many problems in the region at the moment georgia is an obstacle of these unrecognized states but i can assure you that as a newly elected president of russia i shall do everything in my capacity to help you find some compromise solution the would accommodate everyone and would eventually facilitate a reintegration of georgian territory that's acceptable for all the parties in a cage a negotiation naturally this is what i told he

you should actually be thankful to me for holding our troops at some point if they had marched into tbilisi georgia would most likely have a different president right now. with the witnesses. both of which is not quite in question of course is reached releasing. three because i believe that the peace enforcement operation which took five days was a mission accomplished our mission was not to capture tbilisi or any other city in georgia our only objective was to hold the invasion that saakashvili had unleashed decides i'm neither a judge nor an executioner i'd like to stress once again that it's up to the people of georgia to assess saakashvili and decide his fate through a democratic vote well maybe they could also use other means the way it sometimes happens in history but the posing circus really by force was not on my agenda back then and i can tell you earnestly i still think it was the right decision even though it would have been a piece of cake. for one more question in here and they still believe that well wishers initial response was look intimate self-defense the further actions o

enforcement operation which took five days was a mission accomplished our mission was not to capture tbilisi or any other city in georgia our only objective was to halt the invasion that sucker's really had unleashed one side's i'm neither a judge nor an executioner so i'd like to stress once again that it's up to the people of georgia to assess saakashvili and decide his fate through a democratic vote well maybe they could also use other means the way it sometimes happens in history but deposing saakashvili by force was not on my agenda back then and i can tell you earnestly i still think it was the right decision even though it would have been a piece of cake. but one more question in here of if they still believe that the initial response was legitimate asked self-defense and further actions of the russian troops were excessive why wasn't it an option to push the georgian forces out of the set yet and stop at that point. you know sophie people are free to make speculation like that and i have come across them many times to try putting yourself in the shoes of russia's commander in chief m

embassy in tbilisi he organized by russian special services as well as a number of other bombings in georgia some media have reported that some world leaders have confronted you about this can you confirm this that i was here and the idea of leader let me put this plainly resolutely no head of state has said anything about this to me because he thought there might be upset about this but this subject is not on my agenda of negotiations with e.u. leaders it's just not there the subject was painful in two thousand and eight because of the conflicts last night with them but now it's off the agenda there is one issue what it is what the w.t.f. recession which we're discussing mainly with the us and sometimes with e.u. representatives as for the explosions the version you mentioned is pure provocative of good but also alaska's simple question are you proud of what you didn't is not an age you ashamed to suffer because of it you know that three years have passed how would you describe your emotions and what's the i will try to answer this i don't know if i can do it like a child ward but i

sooner we go to georgia to check what's behind tbilisi's thirst for glitz and glamour and how president saakashvili plans to want to help the support by turning up the music. alstead egyptian president hosni mubarak is g. to appear in court later on a wednesday charged with the killing of protesters during the february uprising as well as corruption the trial is set to be broadcast live from cairo where the leader will be tried along with his two sons and his senior aides well the charge against him carries a possible death sentence if he's found guilty of premeditated killings archy's acts on a boy has been following events for us. the trial of the former egyptian president hosni mubarak hasn't even begun yet but it's all gravy associated with plenty of tribulations for the transitional military council which took over the country ever since most parts that down back uncovering the decision of whether to put him on trial was essentially a choice between the bad and the worst and still unclear which one is which if people are it is indeed forced to defend his actions in the courtroom hi

soon we had to georgia to check what's behind tbilisi's thirst for glitz and glamour and how president saakashvili plans to win a public support by turning up the music. of the u.s. narrowly misses a potential default signing into law an emergency budget deal that leaves both sides of the months long political debate disappointed with a country that once advised russia during its worst economic crisis fail to prepare for its own a financial humiliation r.t.c. cut that he has been investigating why washington refuses to help itself. congress has now approved a compromise to reduce the deficit and avert a default there would have devastated our economy the u.s. just had to swallow this bitter appeal but many students it will how the patients recovery but will instead prove to be a poisoned chalice our economy is not growing at all in fact unemployment remains very high foreclosures remain very high no recovery is taking place and are we on a suicide mission we may be gesturing you know to kind of deal with debt at the same time make it impossible for the government to play any role to sa

soon we head to georgia to check what's behind tbilisi's a player story glitz and glamor and how president saakashvili plans to wind up public support by turning up the music. now a clash between a supporters and opponents of the ousted president hosni mubarak who is due in court right now and here we are looking at live pictures from cairo you have demonstrators gathering just outside the courthouse and the latest that we're hearing is that former president has actually arrived by helicopter of cairo court so they're looking at live pictures again from in front of the a courthouse some of barak is charged with the killing of protesters during the february op rising and corruption well the trial is set to be. live from cairo where the meter will be tried along with his two sons and senior aides the charge against him carries a possible death sentence if he's found guilty of premeditated killings artie's acts on a boy who has been following events for us. the trial of the former egyptian president hosni mubarak has already some see it it's been plenty of tribulations for the transitional co

of conflict with neighboring georgia because the other had been fighting for its independence from tbilisi since the early ninety's it was recognized by russia and a number of other states following in georgia's military aggression on the south of setia another caucasus republic and next r.t. talks to one of the presidential candidates prime minister said again about the challenges his country faces. we are in the republic of a pause here where preparations are under way for the august presidential election . is the country's prime minister and also one of the candidates and he's here with us today the upcoming election is the second presidential election after. recognition what does it say about a pause as a more than independent state. we have been an independent state for a longer time than we've been recognized so this is in fact already our fourth election democracy is working its way into our society and so each time elections get more democratic the public gets involved more actively and so we expect this time it will be a democratic process how many international observers will be

from tbilisi but he didn't turn out for it i think he was afraid of retribution after his death. an enemy of the people who. live in this signal the start of mass repression. country is a black sea resort in the past in the one nine hundred thirty s. local steered clear of this building just outside town. right or certain a chicken dad say has found out that so-called political prisoners were kept here in the basements of the interior ministry's local television. as soon as all the paperwork was signed off on the condemned ward out from these basements and shot right here on this in the limestone pits by the sea shore. yuri bernier has spent his whole life here after he was labeled a son of an enemy of the people he lived through the stigma for fifteen years he was stripped of many rights such as being barred from studying at a legal institute. his family home was deserted in one thousand thirty seven fifteen relatives all of whom were well to do peasants were shot for refusing to join soviet collect the farmers the crackdown on enemies of the people in this region was especially