when georgia try to topple the resister regime in the break we're republic of south a saturday three years ago moscow was there to help russia became the first state to recognize the independence of south central and the other georgian breakaway republic of cars here but in the spring of this year the uprising president sergei but died of heart failure and now the young country is looking for a new leader and the name will be known soon there's a shortlist of three the acting head of state the opposition leader and the prime minister. thank you for coming to the program we're happy to have you with this house he has been living in dissipation of an early election for the last two months as this extraordinary situation i think the stability in the republic. it's hard to say that untimely death has taken president surrogate bug up show away from us and

under the constitution of the presidential election has to take place on august twenty sixth the state has held elections more than once before and it will be the fourth presidential election in the history of the country. these elections have always met the standards of transparency and democracy as generalizations and comments international watchdog suggest. but we're sure the upcoming election will also live up to these standards were invited many observers especially from some european countries to monitor the election. well some eighteen months ago we held the previous presidential election. and that was accessed by the monitors and it's highly democratic and absolutely in. order there is no election rich as such among the voters is there. a president society has trouble.

much politicized and as always struggled for the citizens' rights and of causes independence. this is uncertain political activity is clearly seen of a now but it definitely won't cross the lines by the constitution constitutes. sticking to the election topic you work together with acting president alexander in the government. can explain your decision to rival each other instead of nominating a concerted candidate against the opposition leader. arrival in each other's candidacy of us has go in his own way. we think it's good to let people cheers. this is a democratic and open competition which makes the popular choice subject. comes to a second election round and only one of you has passed the other front runner being . supported one another in this case to be the opposition. you know

will greatly depend on the results of the second election round who wins because the electorate will have formed by that time and i don't think that any attempts on the part of the political leaders to influence their opinions can succeed so. expect russia to take as we remember one of the candidates back in two thousand and four that we have extended talks in moscow did you sense any disposition. struggled for its independence for quite long. played into its liberty to the victims and losses. therefore any for intrusion and it causes domestic affairs encounters more but a version of the population. it accounts for the voters over reaction and two thousand and four. which. as far as i see. leadership is

not going to meddle with a presidential election they say. this is what i'm carbon diet have heard here in our regular meetings with the russian politicians. how do you feel about the possibility of the opposition coming to power who you theory it is or should is it critical he's the clearly if the opposition seize power can this lead to revolutionary developments in the country we know in two thousand and four it was the opposition that ripped the power this was preceded by a few years election struggle of course which is quite common for all the actions in the process and even the parliamentary elections are political events go in the atmosphere of close competition. i hate to interrupt you but the country was practically on the brink of a civil war in two thousand and four yes on the brink but we always know the right time to stop i hope. truly unique solutions were found back in two thousand and four. two rivaling candidates united to their efforts and went to the next election round as

a president and vice president of mystic but it is the president in such matters it is life itself that directs. people. and this poses certain threats to the life of the community. that's why the president society has always been so anxious to preserve stability and peace in his country. you are generally considered to be a soft liner politician who favors diplomacy and i think you can sense to give this interview proves the point i think it is more of a drawback. in the run up to the presidential election you surely have a tough action plan to combat corruption and increasing criminal activity in the country. of course i have one i think you can't and force law and order by police methods. you should use diplomatic tools and we are about to do this. but i am a person with democratic fears you. the liberal heaven and i'm known for my views.

but i think that this is the right approach that helps find solutions to challenging issues that well any sorts of tough measures are simply unacceptable in across them. just like in any other country but the most is that we all can see what came out of tough regimes such as to tell a terror in regimes and others. and our people are especially freedom loving and at zero tolerance to pressure. when you put it all therefore in a positive. society itself chose to. skip which. is an example of tough rule by one person who has been in office work quite a while. but we see that commotion never stops and. people are unhappy and the government keeps being shuffled. often happens in a month constitutional way. a double live a life like this but. with all the difficulties we've been having.

even in the times of the blockade. when the pressure put on us by major international players was really high and as you know the united states russia france the united kingdom germany the united nations they all see just another international organizations. in the children of conflict settlement. and most of them put pressure on us trying to drive us back into georgia. but nevertheless we stood by our interests that's something we really know how to do. it. let's go back to the election looking at georgia's experience situation in georgia is quite difficult there are always some spy skin those officials close to open end up in jail and so on that's what it boils down to. but it could actually

be to your advantage because there is an opinion that your has its hands busy right now it is more focused on his domestic situation and therefore you should expect no pressure to interfere no provocation from georgia during the upcoming election is that true. but you know once we signed the treaty of friendship cooperation and mutual assistance with the russian federation which defined the alliance with russia. in the security guarantees provided by the straits. we now have russia's protection. in addition to this were obtained the opportunity to develop economic relations with russia. and these two facts have changed the situation in a positive matter. and the fears our people used to have of georgia are now given way to the new outlook another new concerns. these days our society feels that our priority challenge is that of corruption. and

this i think speaks a lot for itself. therefore speaking of the presidential elections where certain about. well i think it's going to go exactly the way she was largely criticised for looking up to russia too much perhaps in the end for having made way too many concessions. leaderships it would need to make some adjustments in this sense. i think that no matter who gets the office strategic alliance with russia will remain the top priority or not because he has a chance because there is no other option not least because other countries in the region have not yet recognized. this state edge between keeps friendship green or would you say it has nothing to do with a caucus is. well i think that in any case this is worth knowing. how

much truth is there in the opinion of how he is independence can actually be in danger and the danger comes from russia there's a risk there has he can be taken over by russia by russian business interests and capital he explained business. i already said that we are a small country facing many threats and our history proves that. well therefore smart leadership means everything to us. and thus we hope that our leaders will always be very smart. we already had some very bitter experience in the past and we should learn from it and we do not see any attempts on russia's side to suppress our national identity our statehood or our choice sure and.

as for concerns of the economic nature well we actually welcome investments into. the present and this process is already underway. it is not our presence his recognition of us over and business encouraged more businesses to explore a country. so we really welcome investors and new projects in our country we already have some projects to offer it says. prime minister. it will be back shortly after the break so stay with. the above. please. twenty years ago the largest country in the world to observe the graces of.

the beach began a journey. where did it take the. hunger for the full story we've got it first hand the biggest issues get a human voice face to face with the news makers. keep. fist. fight. me. welcome back to spotlight. the shamba the prime minister. we have touched upon the issue of russia's

economic presence an impasse and you said you welcome russian investment in the housing economy as far as i know. and from what i saw when it came to a party last year investment from other countries not just russia. equally important to you what is the current situation here any significant investment from western countries. speak of significant investments as they stage. business circles and even some american business people has been shown certain interests and. anyway the number of people who come up with projects these days is rather limited. are these people interested in to be more precise in buying a stretch of the black sea coast must be after the end. to give you an example there is a turkish company that deals with coal mining also cooperate with companies interested

in. travel industry and natural resources there are various business proposals. have already mentioned very scarce that is partially the result of the western policies towards. the united states and the european union. but there's been considerable interest recently there are certain willingness to cooperate specially in the economic sphere. the us and the e.u. to develop a strategy of engagement without recognition. regard to the state. that's an interesting concept. without. the west cannot recognize a policy for political reasons but at the same time it is eager to promote cooperation with your country i've heard an opinion that this move was not inspired by the wish to help not even by the considerations of profits to prevent russia from gaining a dominant position in the region since this trend of the western policies is

effective. but it hasn't come to the implementation of this policy it is not of course what you are saying is true. there is competition over of we have always senate both in the past on the political settlements laws on the way and now when they cannot make interest for all the day foreigners are allowed to purchase real estate in a positive way. because in law stipulates that land can go on sale and only citizens of the are entitled to buy real estates but at the present moment the parliament is considering a lot draft that will enable compromise on this question. if the bill is passed any foreigner not only russians will be able to purchase houses on the seaside am i right i will explain the question the russian resort city of sochi is located only one hundred kilometers away from a house is tremendously popular with tourists and it's overcrowded as you. see is

eminently cleaner the air is cleaner environment is much better than in sochi you should make use of this potential what is holding you back. the thing is we want to preserve this beauty of all nature but isn't that we feel very cautious about projects that can harm the environment but. we have already had to turn down some very attractive proposals because the public was strongly opposed to. i don't want to sound offensive with regard to a very few woman who wants to preserve her virginity she shouldn't get married and she never will in fact. we should find a compromise solution here do you think there can be a compromise in the situation. where we're now discussing this new compromise alone real estate. the slow will apply to the new buildings only. it is

go into a lot of foreign citizens to buy and own new buildings and. a lot of thousands were driven out into turkey during the wars in the caucasus in the nineteenth century there is many a part is living in turkey as there any person nowadays much more in fact. has here today are very small people without any but they are you planning any repatriation campaign in order to attract all those who are displaced from their home country. who are pursuing a special policy in this regard as we have established a state body that deals with. no mass migrations of stars and so forth. that is there are people who want to come back to the repatriation body helps them to settle down and resolve their rising problems. besides the great number of ethical presidents living in turkey determines the policy of the

turkish government which facilitates friendly relations between the two is and turkey. turkey still hasn't recognized as i thought the turks always take the confusion factor into consideration. as the turkish cause insects are consolidated within a countrywide cook asian community shill and they form a significant force that can influence the domestic political decision making process. seal. in this regard apologies very much. up to seventy percent of iranians that reside outside their native country but their incomes over half of the budget know the state budget of course but the household budgets of the relatives we have anything of the kind. of situations are completely different because our main is a one nation state are many informal ninety percent of us population whereas we

have a multicultural society. and there are unique culture. many different cultures is what makes us strong. this is especially true of all capital. which has inspired many poets and writers but this one of a kind mixture of cultures traditions and religions has something truly unique. recognition for your independent state so you don't quite well then but it's somehow slowed down and there's been no progress since then as far as i know do expect this process to anytime soon. we have signed the treaty with russia takes care of practically all of our key problems. and the key problems any country faces in the domains of security and economic development or. our alliance with russia helps us address these two issues

both security and economic development in the most efficient way and i mean a lot has already been done in both fears. of the world's largest country that we share extended lead boundaries with is naturally the key here. nevertheless well diplomats continue their efforts we cooperate with many countries it has never happened before in our history that her ambassadors work somewhere far from our region although. the president can't i'm existed for many centuries. today diplomats work on distant continents when they work in latin america and south and central america in the caribbean as well as in the specific region the process is underway and the main thing. is that there are friendly nations out there and there is an understanding that a president is a sovereign term a critic states recently

a strong argument there are also many powerful forces that are trying to hinder this process well that's the political environment that will be changing as it cannot say the same for a of course in the end of the day a recognition of a cause it will depend on the progress we make and another message to the world that i'm sure that our message will be saying that because there is an open democratic and friendly state. that's the kind of country we're building. you mentioned powerful forces that stand in a way on the global diplomatic arena i want are those forces is the united states or europe or georgia. well they have been well known cases when for example belarus was ready to recognize across but then it faced pressure from the european union and the united states that's one simple example. but if you ever tell me to look at shank over the years that he was pressured by washington international recognition

of he will go bananas i wouldn't recommend telling him that. well let's say he had to yield to circumstances. we understand everything and hold no grudge against anyone of course we know that those states and their politicians live in today's world and have to take into account laws cohen only around so do we actually you know what's going on in the world does worry us to us in the. lynwood with the russia which is you along with border you also have one more important. neighbor and there is georgia. which you have legally been a part of for many years so if you expect ever to live to see a constructive dialogue starting with georgia in. the starting to recognize a positive partially. you know i have always said that georgia will recognize a cause a one day around the opposing the prison at the present i just don't know when that they will. but you see not much time has passed and yet we already see well known

and rather influential people in georgia including next president mr shevardnadze saying that a cause a should be recognized right now there are obstacles to that but i think as time goes by there will be an understanding that it is better to be friends with the crowd and to remain in a permanent conflict for that and confront that's when we see we are ready to have a dialogue was georgia right now but it's impossible since they passed laws that don't allow us to get behind the negotiations table. as they claim that causes an occupied country well we don't regard ourselves as occupied so they secretly have an agreement with russia polish there is a russian military base in the process. somehow as he is about as much occupied by russia is georgia is occupied by the united states well yes we may continue talking to each other like that forever. georgia says that it won't be able to talk with us unless of course it is the occupied. while in this case they have to wait for

a long time and change their mind in the end anyway so if i get it correctly it is possible but not under the current regime in belief see. i think that the sober view of the current situation in the region will prevail sooner or later not only in georgia but also among those who support your chance to see that certain understanding already exists but there are various mutual obligations that prevent the policies from evaluating the situation correctly. especially thank you very much. for being with us and just a reminder that my guest today was said to be a shot back a president prime minister spoke about it will be back with more first time comments on was going on in and outside russia and the length of stay in our team and take it.

in india in the movie the joint the hotel room. the gateway hotel

the grand imperial truly the torch was the. socialist see don't need to go and. read this in the kennel was her job as a treat. suicide rates are rising in japan as people struggle with the aftermath of disaster meanwhile the atomic watchdog says the radiation of the stricken the fukushima nuclear plant could be contained within months. dog days ahead president obama calls on the public to pressure congress into a compromise on avoiding default admitting america's verging on a catastrophe. at the top north korean diplomat is invited to read troops in the u.s. to try and revive the long stalled negotiations on scrapping pyongyang's controversial nuclear program.

news that live from moscow this is r.t. i'm wrong. it took just a few minutes for an earthquake and tsunami to devastate swathes of japan it's a tragedy that will take years to recover from for some people it's simply too much to deal with the trauma of thousands of lost lives entire towns leveled and the threat of nuclear catastrophe. thomas now reports on the worrying a rise in japanese suicides. a triple disaster on a scale the world has never known causing damage and destruction and uncertainty forcing tens of thousands of japanese refugees to leave their lives behind and seek shelter anywhere they can some people. but the the problem is the minority they be they have been accused by.

you know of course by offshore. causing. people. not. primarily a move towards self-preservation this idea of desertion is defined by many as characteristically in japanese and has earned those who have evacuated the dishonorable title of traitor. of course it's hard to hear that we have family members we think about our health but in other words we ran away whiskey because we're scared of radiation but there is no example in the world of something similar and the consequences are still ongoing. while those who have moved to shelters here in tokyo are facing that guilt and the pressure to move back home there are others who have lost everything cannot handle the overwhelming change and they are facing even darker demons.