Clashes Erupt As Georgia’s Premier Halts EU Membership Talks
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
TBILISI/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Tensions remain high in Georgia’s capital, where police and protesters clashed after the country’s ruling party suspended negotiations to join the European Union until 2028
Dozens of demonstrators were detained as police used water cannons, pepper spray, and tear gas overnight to disperse crowds who took to the streets following the announcement by Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze of the ruling Georgian Dream party.
Georgian Dream claimed victory in last month’s parliamentary election, which the opposition in the South Caucasus nation dismissed as fraudulent and that European officials condemned.
The election was seen as a referendum on whether the former Soviet nation would move towards the West or stay more under Russia’s sphere of influence.
Some pro-EU protesters threw fireworks at police while shouting “Russians” and “slaves”.
Thousands had blocked streets in the capital before the altercations began.
The country’s outgoing pro-EU figurehead president, Salome Zourabichvili, accused the government of declaring “war” on its people and confronted riot police, asking “whether they served Georgia or Russia.”
TENSIONS REMAIN
However, there were no indications that tensions would ease as the Georgian Dream governing bloc accused the EU of using the prospect of accession talks to “blackmail” the country and to “organize a revolution in the country.”
As a result, it said: “We have decided not to put the issue of opening negotiations with the European Union on the agenda until the end of
2028. Also, we refuse any budgetary grant from the European Union until the end of 2028.”
The South Caucasus country of 3.7 million has the aim of EU accession written into its constitution and has long been among the most pro-Western of the Soviet Union’s successor states.
Yet that pro-Western tone changed under Kobakhidze, although Moscow denied interfering in the country’s internal affairs.
However, Russia still occupies about 20 percent of Georgia’s internationally recognized territory after it invaded the country 16 years ago.
Russia does not allow the European Union Monitoring Mission in Georgia observers to enter the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
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