BRUSSELS, December 1. /TASS/. The European Union’s new foreign policy chief, Kaia Kallas, has voiced support for the anti-government forces in Georgia while paying a visit to Kiev on her first day in office.

On her X page, she condemned "the violence against protesters," who staged riots and clashed with the police in the Georgian capital city of Tbilisi, describing the actions of the rioters as the Georgian people’s "choice for a European future" and expressing support for them. She also condemned the Georgian ruling party’s decision to suspend the process of the country’s accession to the EU and expressed regret with "democratic backsliding of the country."

"This will have direct consequences from EU side," she warned.

Georgia saw large-scale protests in the past two days. In the early hours on November 29 and 30, protest rallies grew into clashes with the police who used water cannon and teargas to disperse the crowds. According to Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, this was a response "to the use of violence by the protesters."

Another anti-government rally was held in front of the parliament building in Tbilisi on Saturday evening. Later, the rally turned into a scuffle with the police. The interior ministry decided to disperse the protesters and ousted the protesters from nearby streets.

The protest was sparked by Kobakhidze's statement on November 28. He said 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.