The United States is suspending the strategic partnership agreement with Georgia, the State Department said. His spokesman, Matthew Miller, said the local government's decision to end EU accession talks was a “betrayal of the Georgian constitution”. President Andrzej Duda talked with the President of Georgia Salome Zurabishvili. His office said he continues to support “the long-standing aspirations of the Georgian people for membership in the European Union.”
“The decision of the Georgian Dream (ruling party – ed.) to suspend joining the European Union is a betrayal of the Constitution of Georgia. We condemn the excessive force of Georgians who use their freedom of protest, and we have suspended our strategic cooperation with Georgia. Matthew Miller wrote on Platform X.
Prime Minister Irakli Kobachidze announced on Thursday that Georgia will suspend negotiations on the country's membership in the European Union until 2028. Since then, anti-government demonstrations of thousands of people have been held in the country.
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On Saturday, Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili announced that she will remain in office until what she says is a legitimate parliament elects a new president. The pro-Western leader and the opposition do not recognize the results of the October parliamentary elections, which were won by the Georgian Dream party based on the official results.
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Andrzej Duda calls to “listen to the voice of citizens”
Also on Saturday, the Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland announced that Andrzej Duda had a telephone conversation with Zurabishvili.
According to the press office, the president introduced the situation in Georgia, described the course of mass and spontaneous social protests that have been going on for two days, and also expressed deep concern about the prospect of increasing tension, escalation of internal conflicts and extremism. serious constitutional crisis in Georgia.
“President Andrzej Duda constantly supports the long-standing aspirations of the Georgian nation for membership in the European Union. This goal is enshrined in the Constitution of Georgia and, according to all polls, it enjoys the support of the majority of Georgian society,” the office noted.
“The decision of the government in Tbilisi to completely suspend the negotiations on membership and actually cut off relations with the EU is a painful blow to these ambitions and will cause very serious damage both to Georgia itself and to the European Union. This radical step. , clearly in the interest of Russia, it is against the pre-election declarations of the Georgian Dream, and therefore it has signs of fraud in the election,” he added.
The KPRP also noted that this would lead to a thorough investigation of all doubts about the conduct of the Georgian parliamentary elections on October 26.
“The unprecedented scale of the current protests, as well as the public opposition of many representatives of the Georgian administration, proves the deep disappointment and concern of the government's decision in the Georgian society, as well as the great determination to return to the path of integration with Georgia. At the same time, information in the media about the brutality in the suppression of protests and the threat of bloodshed creates great concern about the future course of events in Georgia.
“Therefore, President Andrzej Duda calls on the government of Georgia to be moderate and cautious, to listen to the voice of the citizens and to refrain from taking decisions against their will, and to be ready to clarify all doubts related to the course of the recent parliamentary elections. Doubts and doubts should be ready to call for new free elections,” the statement of the chancellor said.
Voting fraud, voter intimidation
In early November, two American research centers, which conducted an exit poll after the parliamentary elections at the request of the Georgian opposition, questioned the official results published by the Central Election Commission. International observers, including the OSCE, have acknowledged that irregularities such as voter fraud, voter intimidation and bribery affected the election, but have not publicly concluded that it was rigged.
The president of Georgia later explained to AFP that electronic voting was used to falsify parliamentary elections. Zurabishvili said that the same ID card numbers sometimes correspond to dozens or 20 votes cast in different regions of Georgia.
According to the president of Georgia, “classical” methods were also used, such as “buying votes, putting pressure on public sector employees” as well as on the families of prisoners who could be released. Zurabishvili also said that “money was openly distributed in minibuses at polling stations”.
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Main photo source: DAVID MDZINARISHVILI/PAP
