Report: Saakashvili 'punched' PM

TBILISI, Georgia, Dec. 26 (UPI) -- Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili punched his nation's prime minister in the face and then threw a telephone at him, media reports said.

Russian media picked up a story that first appeared in a Georgian tabloid, Alia, attributed to an unnamed source, Britain's Daily Telegraph reported. The account did not say what motivated the alleged assault against Prime Minister Grigol Mgaloblishvili.

Alia said Mgaloblishvili turned in his resignation after the incident but Saakashvili declined to accept it.

The Georgian ambassador to the United Nations, Irakli Alasania, said Wednesday he had resigned this month, due to a disagreement with the Saakashvili government concerning Georgia's war with Russia in August. Alasania said he would run as an opposition candidate in Georgian elections, The New York Times reported.