Georgia's breakaway region of South Ossetia has said it plans to hold a referendum on joining Russia but the Kremlin appeared to pour cold water on the idea.
NATO opened a training centre in Georgia as the ex-Soviet country eyes closer partnership with the Western military alliance amid tensions with Russia.
Georgian police were hunting down a tiger who escaped from the capital's flood-ravaged zoo after after another tiger mauled a man to death before being killed.
Nine people were missing in Georgia's capital Tbilisi, a day after freak floods killed 14 people and swept away zoo animals, some of which were shot after being found prowling the streets.
Lions, tigers and even a hippopotamus escaped from a zoo in the Georgian capital Tbilisi, adding to chaos caused by severe flooding that killed at least 12 people.
Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili has warned European Union leaders against letting Russian aggression in Ukraine undermine the bloc's project of building closer links with ex-Soviet nations.