Protests have erupted in Georgia after the prime minister said he was suspending talks on his country joining the European Union for four years, accusing Brussels of “blackmail and manipulation”.
Thousands of protesters gathered outside the parliament in Tbilisi on Thursday night and there were demonstrations in other cities after Irakli Kobakhidze, of the Georgian Dream party, said the country would not pursue EU accession until 2028.
Kobakhidze made the statement hours after he was reappointed prime minister after last month’s parliamentary election, which Georgian Dream won but which the opposition said had been rigged under the influence of Russia.
Police clash with protesters after EU talks are suspended
On Friday, the EU’s ambassador to Georgia, Pawel Herczynski, called the prime minister’s decision “very sad and heartbreaking”, and said it contradicted the actions