Georgia’s prime minister has accused the pro-West president of treason for opposing his controversial “foreign agents” law, which looks set to be forced through on Tuesday.
The law would force Western-financed NGOs to register with a government unit, in what critics and the US have denounced as an example of Kremlin-inspired authoritarianism that would crush civil society.
Relations between prime minister Irakli Kobakhidze’s ruling Georgian Dream party and Salome Zurabishvili, the president, have collapsed over the plans and sparked mass protests.
Speaking at an Independence Day ceremony in central Tbilisi on Sunday, Mr Kobakhidze took aim at Ms Zurabishvili, who was seated a few feet away, as he touted Georgia’s neutrality in the war between Russia and Ukraine.
“The unity of the people and the government has allowed us over the past two years to maintain peace in the country despite existential threats and various betrayals, including the betrayal of the president,” Mr Kobakhidze said.
The law has triggered some of the biggest protests in Georgia since it gained independence from the Soviet Union more than 30 years ago, while police have responded with tear gas and water cannon.