Georgia opposition seeks meeting with president

TBILISI (Reuters) - Georgia's opposition, backed by some 20,000 protesters, pushed on Saturday for direct talks with President Mikheil Saakashvili in an attempt to end a month-long political crisis in the former Soviet republic.

The stand-off over Saakashvili's rule flared into violence this week, casting a shadow over the start of NATO military exercises in Georgia. These exercises, nine months after Russia's brief war with Georgia, have angered Moscow.

Under pressure from the Orthodox Church after clashes between police and protesters injured 28 people, the opposition met parliament speaker David Bakradze on Friday in the first formal contact with the government since street protests began on April 9.

On Saturday, several opposition leaders demanded talks with Saakashvili so they could tell him to quit over his record on democracy and last year's war, when Russia crushed a Georgian assault on breakaway South Ossetia. Others urged patience.

"We are giving the president 24 hours to get in touch with us by telephone or any other means, otherwise we'll let you know our plans on the continuation of our activities and their scope tomorrow evening," Salome Zurabishvili, one of the protest leaders, told around 20,000 protesters in front of parliament.

Another prominent opposition leader, Irakly Alasania, said talks with Bakradze should continue.

Turnout at the protests on Saturday was far higher than usual to mark the one-month anniversary of the protests.

Opposition leaders met the European Union's South Caucasus envoy, Peter Semneby. Asked about possible mediation, he said the EU had a "profound interest" in events in Georgia and was ready to help, but did not see itself taking an active role.

PROCESS "MAY TAKE TIME"

He told Reuters: "The role we foresee for ourselves in this process is going to have to be determined by the Georgians themselves. This is about how Georgia should be governed."

On top of the protests, a brief, bloodless mutiny at a tank base outside Tbilisi on Tuesday has contributed to the biggest challenge to Saakashvili since he took power on the back of the 2003 "Rose Revolution" on a promise to consolidate democracy.

Analysts say the opposition most likely lacks the numbers to force Saakashvili to step down. It has managed to maintain roadblocks with tents and improvised 'cells' in the streets to paralyze central Tbilisi and force the government to negotiate.

The government says it is offering talks on reforms to address opposition accusations that Saakashvili has monopolized power, undermined the judiciary and repressed free media.

This, not the president's resignation, should be the agenda for a meeting with Saakashvili, the government says.

Alasania, another defector from Saakashvili, acknowledged "different views" within the opposition over how to proceed.

He said he expected another meeting with Bakradze.

"I would encourage all these parties to show the utmost patience while we're working through this dialogue. This is a process that may take time," Alasania, who quit as Georgia's ambassador to the United Nations after the war, told Reuters.

"We believe that the best outcome can be the achievement of free and fair elections for president and parliament, but we also understand there are issues the government wants to discuss with us and we are prepared to hear these issues."

(Editing by Robert Woodward)