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Compiled by Mzia Kupunia
Thursday, October 2
Wine factories refuse to buy grapes from farmers

Wine factories are not accepting grapes delivered by local farmers, Akhali Taoba writes. Farmers from Kakheti have informed the Kakheti Information Centre that the factories are citing a notification from the Government as the reason.

“We have been to more than 15 factories, asking them to buy our grapes, however we are still not able to sell the harvest. As soon as they find out that the grapes weigh more than 20 tonnes they refuse to buy. In private conversations the factory owners have told us that they have been told by the Government to accept grapes only from peasants, because state subsidies are not allocated for farmers,” a spokesman for the farmers said.

Kote Khutsaidze, head of the coordination centre “Vintage 2008”, founded in the Gurjaani region by the Ministry of Agriculture, did not confirm this information.



European Parliament will discuss consequences of war

The participants of the PACE autumn session will discuss the situation in the South Caucasus and the recent conflict, Sakartvelos Respublika reports. The title of the discussion, as it appears on the agenda, is “The Consequences of the War between Russia and Georgia.” The discussion will be held in the format of an urgent debate.

PACE monitoring commission members Luc Van den Brande (Belgium) and Mattyas Eorsi (Hungary) will make a speech to the European Parliament presenting the findings of their commission, which was tasked with drafting memoranda on this subject.

130 members of the European Parliament have expressed a willingness to participate in the debate. At yesterday’s PACE session, 34 of the attendees were from Russia.



Russian occupiers trying to win over ethnic Georgians living in Abkhazia

Two Russian helicopters have dropped leaflets on the regions of Gali and Ochamchire, 24 Saati reports. These suggest that Russian occupiers are defending the people from Georgian aggression, Gali residents informed the Abkhazian Media Centre.

“Dear Mingrelians living on Abkhazian territory, we are defending you from aggression by land, sea and air. You are under our reliable protection. We will provide you with all kinds of help, including military assistance. The Russian military forces are well placed to provide peace and security for you and your children,” the leaflets say.