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Associated Press

Protesters gathered across Georgia on Saturday night in a third night of demonstrations against the government’s decision to suspend negotiations to join the European Union.
More than 100 demonstrators were arrested as crowds clashed with police on Friday night, the country’s Interior Ministry said.
The Associated Press saw protesters in Tbilisi being chased and beaten by police as demonstrators rallied in front of the country’s parliament building.
On Saturday protesters were pushed by police and special forces toward a nearby square after defying warnings to leave the area.
Taxi drivers used their vehicles to form a barrier between demonstrators and riot police.

The ruling Georgian Dream party’s disputed victory in the country’s October 26 parliamentary election, which was widely seen as a referendum on Georgia’s aspirations to join the EU, has sparked major demonstrations and led to an opposition boycott of the parliament.
The Georgian Dream party was established by Bidzina Ivanishvili, a billionaire who made his fortune in Russia.
The opposition has said that the vote was rigged with the help of Russia, Georgia’s former imperial master, with Moscow hoping to keep Tbilisi in its orbit.
On Saturday Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili said that Georgia was becoming a “quasi-Russian” state and that Georgian Dream controlled the country’s major institutions.
She said the country was one “where we do not have any longer independent institutions, not the courts, not the Central Bank, and not, of course, the parliament”, she said. “We have been moving more and more rapidly into a quasi-Russian model.”

She vowed to defy the ruling party’s plan to replace her as riot police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse protesters.
Zourabichvili also rejected statements made by Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, who characterised the protests as “violent demonstrations”.
In a statement on Saturday, he said Tbilisi remained committed to European integration. However, he said that unspecified “foreign entities” wished to see the “Ukrainisation” of Georgia with a “Maidan-style scenario” – a reference to Ukraine’s 2014 Maidan revolution.
“We are not demanding a revolution. We are asking for new elections, but in conditions that will ensure that the will of the people will not be misrepresented or stolen again,” Zourabichvili said.

“Georgia has been always resisting Russian influence and will not accept having its vote stolen and its destiny stolen.”
The government’s announcement that it was suspending negotiations to join the EU came hours after the European Parliament adopted a resolution that condemned last month’s vote as neither free nor fair.
It said the election represented another manifestation of Georgia’s continued democratic backsliding “for which the ruling Georgian Dream party is fully responsible”.
European election observers said October’s vote took place in a divisive atmosphere marked by instances of bribery, double voting and violence.
The EU granted Georgia candidate status in December 2023 on condition that it meet the bloc’s recommendations but put its accession on hold and cut financial support earlier this year after the passage of a “foreign influence” law widely seen as a blow to democratic freedoms.
EU lawmakers urged a rerun of the parliamentary vote within a year under thorough international supervision and by an independent election administration. They also called on the EU to impose sanctions and limit formal contacts with the Georgian government.


The Georgian prime minister fired back, denouncing what he described as a “cascade of insults” from the EU politicians and declaring that “the ill-wishers of our country have turned the European Parliament into a blunt weapon of blackmail against Georgia, which is a great disgrace for the European Union”.
Kobakhidze also said Georgia would reject any budgetary grants from the EU until the end of 2028.
Meanwhile, the United States has suspended its strategic partnership with Georgia. The Georgian Dream party’s rejection of possible closer ties with Europe makes the country “more vulnerable to the Kremlin”, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.
Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, in a statement broadcast on Facebook on Sunday, called the US decision “temporary”, saying that the Biden administration was trying to leave the most challenging issues to president-elect Donald Trump.
“We’ll will wait for the new administration and discuss everything with them,” Kobakhidze said.
The Georgian Dream party recently pushed through laws similar to those used by the Kremlin to crack down on freedom of speech and LGBTQ rights.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg


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Protesters clash with police during a demonstration against the government’s decision to delay European Union membership talks amid a post-election crisis, outside the Georgia Parliament in Tbilisi. Photo: AFP

Protesters clash with police during a demonstration outside Georgia’s parliament in Tbilisi. Photo: AFP

A protester launches fireworks towards police during a demonstration in Georgia. Photo: AFP

Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili attends an opposition rally in Tbilisi. She says Georgia is becoming a quasi-Russian state. Photo: Reuters

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Protesters clash with Georgian police in Tblisi over the government’s EU application delay. Photo: Reuters

Supporters of Georgia’s opposition protest in front of the parliament building in Tbilisi. Photo: Reuters

Georgia’s Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Thursday. Photo: Reuters

Georgian riot police deploy water cannon against demonstrators in Tbilisi. Photo: Reuters

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Demonstrations – with some police using water cannons and tear gas – began following the suspension of talks to join the European bloc


Demonstrations – with some police using water cannons and tear gas – began following the suspension of talks to join the European bloc.


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Georgia