Court Requested To Force Tbilisi Mayor To Answer Questions

Gigi Ugulava

TBILISI -- Georgia's Interior Ministry says it will request a court order to force Tbilisi Mayor Gigi Ugulava to come in for questioning.

The ministry said Ugulava has been ignoring its subpoenas for days.

Investigators want to question him in connection with clashes between President Mikheil Saakashvili's opponents and supporters in front of the National Library last week.

Ugulava, known as one of Saakashvili's closest associates, was at the scene on February 8 when Saakashvili planned to make his annual address from the library. It had to be postponed for several hours and relocated because his opponents blocked the building's entrance.

The day before, lawmakers voted to indefinitely postpone the speech to parliament.

Saakashvili's supporters said the president's political rival, Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, bears responsibility for the provocation.