TBILISI, July 31. /TASS/. Employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia detained several people protesting against the arrival of the Astoria Grande passenger liner from Russia to the Georgian city of Batumi, according to Georgian TV channel Formula.

People were detained under administrative orders due to fights with police officers stationed in the port for the safety of vacationers. Late at night, opposition party representatives began to gather in Batumi near the harbor. They claim that persons on board the liner support Russia’s military actions in Ukraine and push for the independence of Abkhazia from Georgia.

This is not first protest against the Astoria Grande in Georgia. On the evening of July 27, more than a hundred Georgian civilians gathered with posters at Batumi's pier to oppose the arrival of the cruise ship carrying Russian visitors. People were dissatisfied, among other things, since some travelers told the local media that they had traveled to Abkhazia, which is against Georgian legislation.