TBILISI, Sept 12 (Reuters) - A former ally of Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili called on Friday for an investigation into last month's war with Russia, adding to growing opposition pressure on the government. "I consider it very important to hold a serious investigation into what led to those events," Nino Burjanadze told a news conference. "The time to ask questions has come." Burjanadze co-authored the 2003 "Rose Revolution" to topple then-president Eduard Shevarnadze but split with Saakashvili early this year, criticising his record on democracy. An opposition pact to refrain from criticising the country's leadership in time of war evaporated this week, with a leading opposition figure saying Saakashvili had lost the right to rule after walking into war with Russia over breakaway South Ossetia. Saakashvili has come under fire for launching an assault to retake the region from pro-Moscow separatists, only for the Georgian military to be routed by a huge Russian counter-offensive. Burjanadze has suggested she would form her own party, but on Friday stopped short of joining opposition calls for Saakashvili to step down. "After this investigation, and after getting answers to all questions, I'll have an objective opportunity to say which decision I consider appropriate," Burjanadze said when asked whether she backed early elections. August's five-day war killed hundreds, created tens of thousands of refugees, hit investor confidence and forced a revision of Georgia's otherwise healthy growth targets. Tbilisi also lost the only footholds it had left in South Ossetia and a second breakaway region, Abkhazia. Analysts say the country's NATO membership bid could be frozen indefinitely. (Reporting by Margarita Antidze; writing by Matt Robinson; editing by Philippa Fletcher)
A child plays with toy cars during a protest against Russia's rising petrol prices outside the regional office of state-controlled oil company Rosneft in the southern city of Stavropol September 10, ...
