Western diplomats have condemned Georgia’s government for shelving membership talks with the European Union until at least 2028 in a move that prompted clashes between protesters and police and fuelled more claims that the Black Sea state is moving closer to Russia.
Thousands of protesters rallied in the centre of the capital, Tbilisi, on Thursday night and the early hours of Friday as the EU decision reignited opposition anger over claims that the ruling Georgian Dream party rigged last month’s parliamentary election. Smaller marches took place in other cities around the country of 3.7 million.
Officials said 43 people had been detained in Tbilisi and 32 police officers had been hurt. It was not clear how many demonstrators were injured, but media freedom groups said about 20 journalists had been hurt.
Georgian prime minister Irakli Kobakhidze accused the EU of using accession talks as “blackmail” against his government, which drew sharp criticism from Brussels this year for cracking down on civil society groups and LGBT+ rights in ways that reminded opponents of tactics used in Russia.
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“For nearly two years the issue of candidate status was used as a primary tool to fuel radicalism and so-called polarisation in Georgia,” he said, claiming that “certain European politicians and bureaucrats exploited the issue of candidate status in an attempt to incite a revolution in our country”.
As result he said the government had decided “not to put opening accession negotiations with the EU on the agenda before the end of 2028. Also, until the end of 2028 we reject any budget support from the EU.”
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Georgian president Salome Zourabichvili, whose term ends next month, said the announcement “marks the end of the constitutional coup unfolding for weeks”.
“The course set months ago, taking us from Europe toward Russia, has now concluded. Today this illegitimate government declared not peace, but war – on its own people ... How events unfold in the coming days will be decided by society – all of us, united. No compromise, no surrender – resistance.”
Ms Zourabichvili and opposition leaders accuse Georgian Dream of using fraud and intimidation to rig last month’s election and extend its 12-year rule.
“What has happened...goes against the will of the vast majority of the population of Georgia,” said Pawel Herczynski, the EU envoy to Tbilisi, alluding to polls that show 80 per cent of Georgians want EU membership.
Robin Dunnigan, the US ambassador to Georgia, noted that the government announcement “drew immediate praise from the Kremlin”.
“I urge Georgian Dream to reconsider its actions and return Georgia to the path of EU and western integration and the path of democracy desired by a clear majority of Georgians.”
