Protesters Descend On Parliament As Georgia Shuns EU Accession Talks
According to RFE/RL, protesters gathered outside the Georgian parliament in Tbilisi after Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on November 28 said his government was suspending EU accession talks until 2028 and would not accept budgetary grants from Brussels.
Photos and videos of the rally showed protesters carrying Georgian and EU flags. A spontaneous protest was also held in the western city of Zugdidi.
Protesters in Zugdidi told RFE/RL's Georgian Service that the ruling Georgian Dream party was moving away from the EU and pushing the country toward Russia.
"Georgian authorities cut off all relations with the European Union and also refuse to receive funding. This will certainly lead to an economic collapse," Manana Mikawa, a teacher, told RFE/RL.
Hours before Kobakhidze's comments, the European Parliament passed a resolution calling for new legislative elections in Georgia and sanctions on senior members of the Georgian Dream party.
Western governments have questioned the October parliamentary elections in Georgia -- in which Georgian Dream secured 54 percent of the vote -- arguing that the elections were marred by violations and Russian influence.
In its resolution, the European Parliament said the result of the election did "not serve as a reliable representation of the will of the Georgian people."
It also called on the European Union, which froze Georgia's EU membership application last month, to place sanctions on key officials within the ruling party, including Kobakhidze, Georgian Dream Chairman Irakli Gharibashvili, billionaire power broker and party founder Bidzina Ivanishvili, and Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze.
Speaking at the Georgian Dream headquarters, Kobakhidze said Tbilisi was suspending accession talks while also rejecting all budgetary grants from the EU until 2028.
"We are not going to join the European Union by begging and standing on one leg, but in a dignified manner with a sound democratic system and a strong economy," the prime minister told reporters without taking any questions.
Earlier, during a parliamentary session to approve his government, Kobakhidze said his government's goal was for Georgia to join the EU by 2030.
"We are ready to observe and take into account all conditions [set by the EU] that do not go against our national interests," he said to applause from Georgian Dream lawmakers.
Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili, a staunch critic of Georgian Dream, is scheduled to meet with foreign diplomats in Tbilisi and is expected to make a statement later on November 28.
