Georgian police on Friday fired water cannon and tear gas on demonstrators, as thousands took to the streets for a second day to protest the government putting off EU membership talks.
The Black Sea nation has been rocked by turmoil since the ruling Georgian Dream party declared victory in October parliamentary elections that the pro-EU opposition decried as falsified.
In a televised address to the nation, pro-Western President Salome Zurabishvili — at loggerheads with the ruling party — said: “The resistance movement has begun… I stand in solidarity with it.
“We will remain united until Georgia achieves its goals: to return to its European path, secure new elections.”
Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze’s statement Thursday that Georgia will not seek to open accession talks with the European Union until 2028 ignited a furious reaction from the opposition and two days of protests.
On Friday, AFP reporters saw riot police fire water cannons and tear gas at pro-EU protesters gathered outside the parliament in Tbilisi who tossed eggs and fireworks.
