January 28, 2006	Saturday	Zilhaj 27, 1426

TBILISI, Jan 27: Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili vowed his country would not be cowed by Russia’s stranglehold on its energy supplies, rallying his countrymen stuck for days without gas and electricity amid freezing winter temperatures.

Returning early from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Mr Saakashvili took aim late on Thursday at Moscow over the weekend blasts that ripped through a key Russian natural gas pipeline and a power line to Georgia.

“I want to declare that today, when most of Georgia is in the dark, when our homes are not heated, that Georgia will never be brought to its knees.... The Georgian people have survived harder times and Georgia will again surprise Russia and the whole world,” Saakashvili said in a live television broadcast across the ex-Soviet nation.

Mr Saakashvili has accused Russia of being behind Sunday’s blasts just inside Russian territory on the main gas pipeline to Georgia and a key power line — charges Russia has categorically denied.

The Russian foreign ministry condemned the comments as ‘odious attacks against Russia’, the RIA-Novosti news agency reported.

In his broadcast, the Georgian leader also vowed to push ahead reforms that would end Georgia’s dependence on energy supplies from Moscow — reflecting his determination to break with Russia’s long-standing dominance over this impoverished Caucasus country.

“I promise this is the last winter it will be possible to hit us in this way,” he said.

Work to repair the pipeline was due to be completed Friday, although Russian engineers on Thursday announced they had discovered additional damage that would need extra attention.

Saakashvili’s comments appeared designed to head off growing domestic discontent, as parts of the capital were still without gas and power on Friday, with temperatures falling as low as minus 10 degrees Celsius (14 Fahrenheit).

The head of Georgia’s presidential administration, Georgy Arveladze, said that 130 state schools that were closed this week because of the crisis would be provided with diesel fuel for heating needs and would re-open.

Amid soaring fuel prices, Arveladze announced price controls on kerosene used for domestic stoves and said private individuals would only be allowed to buy 20 litres at a time.

Georgian Energy Minister Nika Gilauri meanwhile was on a visit to Iran, the second leg of a tour of neighbouring states aimed at securing extra gas supplies.

Gilauri earlier secured promises of extra gas from Azerbaijan, but technical problems on a Russian pipeline supplying gas to Azerbaijan caused knock-on disruption of deliveries from Azerbaijan to Georgia.

Georgian Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili travelled to western Georgia Friday to inspect domestic power lines apparently damaged in snowstorms but was prevented by icy conditions from reaching the area, officials said.

Tensions between Georgia and Russia have risen since a “rose revolution” in late 2003 that brought Saakashvili to power, promising a new pro-Western course and renewed efforts to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.—AFP