Pro-EU protesters clash with police in Georgia (VIDEOS)

Protesters clashed with police in Georgia’s capital, Tbilisi, on Thursday evening, after the government suspended accession negotiations with the EU.

A large demonstration, backed by several opposition parties, as well President Salome Zourabichvili, gathered outside the national parliament on Rustaveli Avenue, denouncing the ruling Georgian Dream party.

Police attempted to disperse the crowd with tear gas and a water cannon.

The Interior Ministry has accused protesters of violating laws on public assembly and throwing “different objects” at officers. Three policemen were injured, the ministry said. On Friday morning, it updated the number to 32, including 13 who required medical treatment. One officer was hospitalized, the ministry said.

The opposition has long been accusing the government of sabotaging negotiations aimed at bringing Georgia into the EU, which have been ongoing since the mid-2000s. The tensions only increased after last month’s parliamentary election, which the opposition claimed was rigged by Georgian Dream.

Read more

EU candidate state suspends accession talks

Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze announced on Thursday that Georgia would suspend accession talks with the EU until 2028. He said his government does not renounce the ultimate goal of joining the EU, but that Georgia should not bow to “constant blackmail and manipulation.”

Zourabichvili denounced the government’s action as “an unconstitutional coup” and called on her supporters to “resist.” 

“No one should dare to suppress today’s protest,” she said in a video address.

Georgia-EU relations have been deteriorating throughout 2024. Brussels has criticized Georgia’s legislation aimed at curbing LGBTQ “propaganda” and labeling NGOs that receive funds from abroad as “foreign agents.”