Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said on Sunday that protesters who sought to force entry to the presidential palace the previous evening had been trying to topple the government and accused the European Union of meddling in Georgia's affairs.
Georgian riot police used pepper spray and water cannons to desperse the demonstrators away from the presidential palace in the capital Tbilisi on Saturday.
Five activists were detaomed in the incident which saw the opposition stage a large demonstration on the day of local elections.
On Sunday, the State Security Service said it had discovered a large cache of weapons, ammunition, explosives and a detonator in a forest outside Tbilisi and said were intended for "subversive acts" at Saturday's protest.
It said a Georgian citizen, whom it identified only by the individual's initials, had purchased the arms at the behest of another Georgian fighting in Ukraine, according to the statement cited by the Interpress news agency.
Kobakhidze said that up to 7,000 people attended Saturday's rally but their "attempt to overthrow the constitutional order" had failed despite what he said was support from Brussels.
He accused EU Ambassador Paweł Herczynski of meddling in Georgian politics and urged him to condemn the protests.
"You know that specific people from abroad have even expressed direct support for all this, for the announced attempt to overthrow the constitutional order," Interpress cited Kobakhidze as saying.
"In this context, the European Union ambassador to Georgia bears special responsibility. He should come out, distance himself and strictly condemn everything that is happening on the streets of Tbilisi."
In a statement on Sunday, the EU's top diplomat Kaja Kallas and European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kops said the bloc "firmly rejects and condemns the disinformation regarding the EU's role in Georgia and denounces the personal attacks against the Ambassador of the European Union to Georgia."
The statement said the election had taken place "amid a period of extensive crackdown on dissent" and urged authorities and civil society against engaging in violence.
The governing Georgian Dream party claimed victory in every municipality across the South Caucasus country of 3.7 million people in Saturday's municipal election, which was boycotted by the two largest opposition blocs.
Georgia's pro-Western opposition has been staging protests since October last year, when Georgian Dream won a parliamentary election that its critics say was fraudulent. The party has rejected accusations of vote-rigging.
Once one of the most pro-Western nations to emerge from the ashes of the Soviet Union, Georgia has had frayed relations with the West since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.
A Japanese city near Mount Fuji has cancelled its annual cherry blossom festival, saying growing numbers of badly behaved tourists are disrupting dail...
Russia launched a large-scale overnight attack on Ukraine’s energy system early on Saturday (7 January), hitting power generation and distribution f...
U.S. has become a central outside power in the south caucasus, shaping diplomacy, security and energy flows. Its relations with Azerbaijan and Armenia...
Iran would retaliate by striking U.S. military bases across the Middle East if it comes under attack by American forces, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghc...
France and Canada opened new consulates in Nuuk, Greenland’s capital, on Friday, stepping up their Arctic presence in a show of support for Denmark,...
A Japanese city near Mount Fuji has cancelled its annual cherry blossom festival, saying growing numbers of badly behaved tourists are disrupting daily life for residents.
Russia launched a large-scale overnight attack on Ukraine’s energy system early on Saturday (7 January), hitting power generation and distribution facilities with more than 400 drones and around 40 missiles, Ukrainian officials have said.
U.S. has become a central outside power in the south caucasus, shaping diplomacy, security and energy flows. Its relations with Azerbaijan and Armenia have evolved from similar beginnings into two distinct partnerships that now define Washington’s role in the region.
Iran would retaliate by striking U.S. military bases across the Middle East if it comes under attack by American forces, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Saturday (7 January), stressing that such action should not be seen as targeting the countries hosting those bases.
Winter weather has brought air travel in the German capital to a complete halt, stranding thousands of passengers as severe icing conditions make runways and aircraft unsafe for operation and force authorities to shut down one of Europe’s key transport hubs.
Storm Leonardo hit Spain and Portugal on Tuesday, forcing more than 11,000 people from their homes, as a man in Portugal died after his car was swept away by floodwaters and a second body was found in Malaga.
An attacker opened fire at the gates of a Shiite Muslim mosque in Islamabad on Friday before detonating a suicide bomb that killed at least 31 people in the deadliest assault of its kind in the capital in more than a decade.
Iran and the United States opened nuclear talks in Oman on Friday, with Tehran calling the meeting a good start and both sides agreeing to continue discussions after returning to their capitals for consultations.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief: here are the top news stories for the 6th of February, covering the latest developments you need to know.
U.S. has become a central outside power in the south caucasus, shaping diplomacy, security and energy flows. Its relations with Azerbaijan and Armenia have evolved from similar beginnings into two distinct partnerships that now define Washington’s role in the region.
Iran would retaliate by striking U.S. military bases across the Middle East if it comes under attack by American forces, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Saturday (7 January), stressing that such action should not be seen as targeting the countries hosting those bases.
Uzbekistan is preparing to introduce Islamic banking after the Senate approved legislation creating a legal framework for Sharia-compliant financial services, a move authorities say could broaden financial access and attract new investment into the country’s economy.
Agreements signed by the United States, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan in Washington on 5 February show that the United States is changing how it secures access to strategic raw materials.
Azerbaijan has summoned Russia’s ambassador in Baku and issued a formal protest note over remarks by Russian lawmaker Konstantin Zatulin, escalating diplomatic tensions between the two countries.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment