When President Mikheil Saakashvili unveiled Georgia's new government 10 months ago, he stressed two factors: ministers' relative youth and their extreme professionalism. Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania for his part characterized his cabinet as "a united team of professionals who think alike," according to Reuters on 17 February.

The two rivals in Abkhazia's disputed presidential election agreed yesterday to stand together in a new poll in early January. Russia, which has been maintaining close political and economic ties with Abkhazia since it won de facto independence from Georgia in the early 1990s, was instrumental in helping secure the last-minute compromise. Supporters in both camps seem unhappy with the deal, which they see as being imposed upon them by Moscow.