Georgian President seeks West's support in standoff with her own government

Georgia’s President Salome Zourabichvili urges Western nations to support the country’s EU integration as protests intensify over suspended accession talks, sparking clashes with police and allegations of government backsliding towards Russian influence.

TBILISI (Reuters) -Georgia's president, locked in a standoff with her own government, appealed to Western countries on Monday to back what she called a "national movement" in support of Georgia's integration with the European Union.

President Salome Zourabichvili was speaking shortly before protesters and police resumed clashes for the fifth straight night since the governing Georgian Dream party said last week that it was suspending talks on joining the EU.

Critics saw that announcement as confirmation of a Russian-influenced shift away from pro-Western policies and back towards Moscow's orbit, something the ruling party denies.

Zourabichvili, who has personally remonstrated with riot police, told Reuters that she wanted European countries to send a "very clear message" that they would not recognise the outcome of an October election in which official results gave Georgian Dream 54% of the vote, and would push for a re-run.

Zourabichvili and the opposition parties have said that the poll was fraudulent, a charge denied by both Georgian Dream and the electoral commission.

Zourabichvili says that Russia, having already invaded Ukraine, is conducting a "hybrid war" against Georgia and other countries such as Moldova and Romania, a NATO and EU member.

As darkness fell on Monday, thousands of demonstrators assembled once again outside parliament and riot police, as on previous nights, fired water cannon to fend off protesters throwing fireworks.

The 72-year-old president, who was born in France to Georgian parents and once served as French ambassador to Georgia, said strong support from the West was "the only political way out of this crisis. There is no other political recipe".

She praised "very courageous" officials who have resigned in protest against the government, including four ambassadors and the head instructor of the interior ministry's training academy.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied on Monday that Russia was interfering in the situation in Georgia, which he compared to the 2014 "Maidan" revolution in Ukraine that overthrew a pro-Russian president.

Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev warned on Sunday that Georgia was "moving rapidly along the Ukrainian path, into the dark abyss", predicting it would end "very badly".

Zourabichvili denied that the situation constituted a revolution like those that previously brought pro-Western governments to power in Ukraine and Georgia.

NO TALKS

The United States and the EU have voiced alarm at what they see as democratic backsliding by Georgia, a South Caucasus country of 3.7 million people that lies at the intersection of Europe and Asia and was once part of the Soviet Union.

The government, which earlier this year enacted a law against "foreign agents" and introduced curbs on LGBT rights, say it is acting to protect Georgia against outside interference and prevent it from being dragged, like Ukraine, into a war with Russia.

Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze accused the opposition of "coordinated violence" aimed at overthrowing the constitutional order. At a Monday briefing, he ruled out talks with the opposition to end the crisis, local media reported.

Georgia's interior ministry said 21 police officers had been injured during protests from Sunday into Monday, with 113 hurt since the beginning of the current unrest.

Scores of protesters have also been injured, and the United States has condemned what it called the excessive use of police force.

Georgia's public ombudsman said 124 out of 156 people arrested at rallies had complained of the police using violence against them, calling this a "very disturbing number".

In a joint move with Baltic neighbours Latvia and Estonia, Lithuania said it was denying entry to Bidzina Ivanishvili, the billionaire backer of Georgian Dream, and 10 Georgian interior ministry officials "due to their responsibility for human rights abuses".

Ilia Topuria, a Georgian martial arts fighter with a major following in the country, wrote in an Instagram post: "I am opposed to the decision to terminate our accession negotiations to the European Union. I am ashamed to see how the children of Georgia are treated. This is not called freedom."

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