ASTANA, January 11 (RIA Novosti) - Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili said Wednesday that he saw no crisis in Ukraine following Tuesday's dismissal of Yuriy Yekhanurov's government.
"There is no danger to [President Viktor] Yushchenko and his administration," Saakashvili said, adding that his Ukrainian counterpart would soon resolve the country's problems.
He said the Ukrainian leadership should focus on preparations for the upcoming parliamentary elections in March.
Ukraine's parliament Tuesday dismissed the government amid concerns over a deal struck with Russia earlier this month to resolve the gas crisis. The country will in the short term receive some of its supplies from Russia at a price of $95 per 1,000 cubic meters - almost double last year's price - but how much it will have to pay to meet the rest of its gas needs, and what price it will find itself paying in the future, is still unclear.
Russia also increased prices to other CIS countries, but while Saakashvili said Georgia would seek alternative sources of gas, he stressed that he was not looking for a confrontation with Russia. Prices to Georgia have gone up from $60 per 1,000 cu m last year to $110 in 2006.
"This is the first winter in 15 years that Georgia has not suffered from a gas shortage," Saakashvili said, adding that his country would try to survive in its new economic conditions.
