In the capital of Georgia, protests have been going on for two weeks against the decision of the government to postpone the beginning of negotiations on the country’s entry into the European Union until the end of 2028. Participants in shares require new parliamentary elections.
Protests began after the Georgian authorities announced the postponement of the beginning of negotiations with the EU. Already the 14th day, thousands of demonstrators are gathering in Tbilisi to express dissatisfaction with this decision. As in the previous days, protests are held late in the evening.
The gathers at the parliament building require the release of protests in the first week. Promotors blocked the movement on Shota Rustaveli Avenue, carrying the flags of Georgia and the EU, as well as anti -government posters. Some protesters announced the non -recognition of the results of the parliamentary elections that passed on October 26, and called the authorities to re -hold them.
Some employees of state institutions who held the procession joined the demonstrations in Tbilisi. Protesters began to disperse only after midnight.
Meanwhile, protests continue in the city of Batumi.
The government’s decision on the suspension of European integration
Protest shares began in Tbilisi and other cities of Georgia after the statement of Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze that the republic will not begin to negotiate in the EU until the end of 2028.
On November 28, Kobahidze said that some European politicians intervene in the internal affairs of Georgia and blackmail Tbilisi with grants. “Taking all this into account, we decided not to raise the question of the start of negotiations with the EU for discussion until the end of 2028,” said the head of the Georgian government.
In protest against the decision of the government, residents of other cities entered the streets. Georgian media write that after the government’s decision to suspend European integration, the ambassadors of Georgia, the Netherlands, Lithuania, Bulgaria and South Korea resigned from their posts.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree on the introduction of sanctions against 19 representatives of the Georgian authorities, including the Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze and the leader of the ruling party “Georgian Dream” Bidzina Ivanishvili. The US State Department also allowed the introduction of additional sanctions against Georgia.