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Protests break out in Georgia after ruling party moves to suspend talks with EU

Demonstrators have gathered in front of the ruling Georgian Dream - Democratic Georgia party’s central office where officials remain after a meeting that decided to suspend the process of the country’s integration into the EU

TBILISI, November 28. /TASS/. Protests have broken out across Georgia after Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze announced the ruling party’s decision to suspend consultations with the European Union on the launch of talks on Tbilisi’s accession until 2028.

Demonstrators have gathered in front of the ruling Georgian Dream - Democratic Georgia party’s central office where officials remain after a meeting that decided to suspend the process of the country’s integration into the EU. Numerous police officers redeployed to the site. Over a hundred people have come to the parliament building. Apart from the capital, Tbilisi, protests are also taking place in Kutaisi and Batumi. The rallies began spontaneously, without calls from opposition leaders.

Earlier on Thursday, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze announced that the ruling party had decided to postpone any talk about launching accession negotiations until late 2028 and decline any funding from the European Union. According to the premier, the decision comes after repeated attempts by the EU to blackmail Georgia with promises of launching the talks in exchange for Tbilisi revoking certain laws passed by the country’s parliament.

Georgia’s relations with the EU and the US started to deteriorate after the country’s parliament passed a law on foreign agents. The European Union has repeatedly urged Tbilisi to revoke the law but the ruling party’s leaders keep insisting that the legislation’s goal is to ensure the transparency of the financial flows of non-governmental organizations active in Georgia, some of which sought to stage a revolution in the country.