Riot police in Georgia used pepper spray and water cannon against protesters after the government suspended moves to join the European Union.
Dozens of people were arrested during the tense stand-off in the capital
pepper spray and water cannon against protesters after the government suspended moves to join the European Union.
Dozens of people were arrested during the tense stand-off in the capital, Tbilisi, as demonstrators refused to disperse.
Protests were triggered after Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze accused the bloc of “blackmail” and said his government would drop its pursuit of membership “until the end of 2028”.
Hours earlier EU legislators called for last month’s parliamentary elections in Georgia to be re-run, citing “significant irregularities”.
Since 2012, Georgia has been governed by the Georgian Dream party, which critics have accused of trying to move the country away from the EU and closer to Russia.
The party claimed victory in last month’s election, but opposition MPs are boycotting the new parliament, alleging fraud, while the country’s President, Salome Zurabishvili, has called the vote “unconstitutional”.
On Thursday, the European Parliament backed a resolution describing the election as the latest stage in Georgia’s “worsening democratic crisis” and saying that the ruling party was “fully responsible”.
It expressed particular concern about reports of vote buying and manipulation, voter intimidation and harassment of observers.
