Georgia’s president has said the Caucasian country’s government is “not legitimate” as thousands of protesters gathered again in the capital after a halt to EU membership talks.
The US State Department condemned the “excessive force” used against demonstrators and suspended its strategic partnership with the country after more than 100 arrests were made on Friday.
Georgia was thrown into crisis on Thursday after Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze’s announcement that talks on Georgia’s EU membership bid will now be delayed until 2028.
Joining the EU is overwhelmingly popular in Georgia, according to opinion polls, and the aim is enshrined in the country’s constitution.
But Mr Kobakhidze’s ruling Georgian Dream party has been accused of becoming ever-more authoritarian, opting for improved relations with Russia over the EU.
The freezing of application talks triggered large protests, with 107 people arrested at demonstrations across the country on Friday night following similar clashes on with police on Thursday.
Violence unfolded in the capital Tbilisi, the Black Sea port of Batumi and other cities, with police using water cannons, tear gas, and pepper spray to suppress protesters.
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US state department spokesperson Matthew Miller wrote on X on Saturday night: “We condemn excessive force used against Georgians rightfully protesting this betrayal of their constitution – EU is a bulwark against Kremlin.”
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Protesters have gathered for a third consecutive night of protests in the Georgian capital.
President Salome Zourabichvili, who has a mostly ceremonial role, said she would not leave office when her term ends next month in an address on Saturday.
She told Sky News’ Barbara Serra on Saturday: “They saw this election stolen from them and since then, there is no recognition of the legitimacy of the parliament, where no opposition party has entered.”
“It’s a one rule parliament, not legitimate, not recognised by our democracy partners.”
Image: Fireworks explode as police and protesters clash in Tbilisi on Saturday. Pic: Reuters
She added: “The people on the streets, and that is democracy, are saying with their feet that they do not want to go back to Russia and that they want to consolidate what was their past for the last 30 years.”
Earlier, in a briefing reported on by Reuters, she said: “There is no legitimate parliament, and therefore, an illegitimate parliament cannot elect a new president. Thus, no inauguration can take place, and my mandate continues until a legitimately elected parliament is formed.”
Image: Georgian flags in Tbilisi on Thursday. Pic: Reuters
TheEuropean Parliament adopted a resolution condemning Georgia’s election last month, which it claimed was neither free nor fair.
Mr Kobakhidze’s party won almost 54% of votes, but opponents claim Russia helped rig the vote to halt the country’s move towards the West.
There were allegations of ballot box stuffing and intimidation – and civil servants being forced to vote for the status quo.
Thousands of protesters were again gathering in Tbilisi on Saturday – the third successive night of protests – amid a large presence of riot police, while hundreds of employees of Georgia’s foreign, defence, justice and education ministries, along with the country’s central bank having signed open letters condemning the decision to freeze talks.
Mr Kobakhidze accused opponents of the halt to EU accession over what his party called “blackmail” of Georgia by the bloc of plotting a revolution, along the lines of Ukraine’s 2014 Maidan protest, which ousted a pro-Russian president.
“In Georgia, the Maidan scenario cannot be realised. Georgia is a state, and the state will not, of course, permit this,” he was quoted as saying by local media.
Ms Zourabichvili said “the whole country is standing in protest” with the “enormous reaction” to the decision growing “every hour and every day” but that, while the demonstrators were “very determined” they were “peaceful”.
“People are deserting the different ministries, the diplomatic corps, people are resigning because they consider that they have been striving their whole life to get Georgia on this European track and that today what we’re seeing is a treason by people who are not elected and certainly not elected to change the path of Georgia,” she said.
Worldwide stock markets have plummeted for the second day running as the fallout from Donald Trump’s global tariffs continues.
While European and Asian markets suffered notable falls, American indexes were the worst hit, with Wall Street closing to a sea of red on Friday following Thursday’s rout – the worst day in US markets since the COVID-19 pandemic.
All three of the US’s major indexes were down by more than 5% at market close; The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 5.5%, the S&P 500 was 5.97% lower, and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 5.82%.
The Nasdaq was also 22% below its record-high set in December, which indicates a bear market.
Ever since the US president announced the tariffs on Wednesday evening, analysts estimate that around $4.9trn (£3.8trn) has been wiped off the value of the global stock market.
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Mr Trump has remained unapologetic as the markets struggle, posting in all-caps on Truth Social before the markets closed that “only the weak will fail”.
The UK’s leading stock market, the FTSE 100, also suffered its worst daily drop in more than five years, closing 4.95% down, a level not seen since March 2020.
And the Japanese exchange Nikkei 225 dropped by 2.75% at end of trading, down 20% from its recent peak in July last year.
Image: US indexes had the worst day of trading since the COVID-19 pandemic. Pic: Reuters
Trump holds trade deal talks – reports
It comes as a source told CNN that Mr Trump has been in discussions with Vietnamese, Indianand Israelirepresentatives to negotiate bespoke trade deals that could alleviate proposed tariffs on those countries before a deadline next week.
The source told the US broadcaster the talks were being held in advance of the reciprocal levies going into effect next week.
Vietnam faced one of the highest reciprocal tariffs announced by the US president this week, with 46% rates on imports. Israeli imports face a 17% rate, and Indian goods will be subject to 26% tariffs.
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China – hit with 34% tariffs on imported goods – has also announced it will issue its own levy of the same rate on US imports.
Mr Trump said China “played it wrong” and “panicked – the one thing they cannot afford to do” in another all-caps Truth Social post earlier on Friday.
Later, on Air Force One, the US president told reporters that “the beauty” of the tariffs is that they allow for negotiations, referencing talks with Chinese company ByteDance on the sale of social media app TikTok.
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Tariffs: Xi hits back at Trump
He said: “We have a situation with TikTok where China will probably say, ‘We’ll approve a deal, but will you do something on the tariffs?’
“The tariffs give us great power to negotiate. They always have.”
Global financial markets gave a clear vote of no-confidence in President Trump’s economic policy.
The damage it will do is obvious: costs for companies will rise, hitting their earnings.
The consequences will ripple throughout the global economy, with economists now raising their expectations for a recession, not only in the US, but across the world.
The court ruled to uphold the impeachment saying the conservative leader “violated his duty as commander-in-chief by mobilising troops” when he declared martial law.
The president was also said to have taken actions “beyond the powers provided in the constitution”.
Image: Demonstrators stayed overnight near the constitutional court. Pic: AP
Supporters and opponents of the president gathered in their thousands in central Seoul as they awaited the ruling.
The 64-year-old shocked MPs, the public and international allies in early December when he declared martial law, meaning all existing laws regarding civilians were suspended in place of military law.
Image: The court was under heavy police security guard ahead of the announcement. Pic: AP
After suddenly declaring martial law, Mr Yoon sent hundreds of soldiers and police officers to the National Assembly.
He has argued that he sought to maintain order, but some senior military and police officers sent there have told hearings and investigators that Mr Yoon ordered them to drag out politicians to prevent an assembly vote on his decree.
His presidential powers were suspended when the opposition-dominated assembly voted to impeach him on 14 December, accusing him of rebellion.
The unanimous verdict to uphold parliament’s impeachment and remove Mr Yoon from office required the support of at least six of the court’s eight justices.
South Korea must hold a national election within two months to find a new leader.
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main liberal opposition Democratic Party, is the early favourite to become the country’s next president, according to surveys.