Georgia protests: President says government ‘not legitimate’ as thousands take to streets for third night
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.
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.”
Read more: People worry about ending up like Ukraine
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.”
Georgian flags in Tbilisi on Thursday. Pic: Reuters
The European 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.
World
Trump criticises Putin after potentially ‘historic’ meeting with Zelenskyy before Pope’s funeral
Donald Trump has criticised Vladimir Putin and suggested a shift in his stance towards the Russian president after a meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy before the Pope’s funeral.
The Ukrainian president said the one-on-one talks could prove to be “historic” after pictures showed him sitting opposite Mr Trump, around two feet apart, in the large marble hall inside St Peter’s Basilica.
The US president said he doubted his Russian counterpart’s willingness to end the war after leaving Rome after the funeral of Pope Francis at the Vatican.
Follow live updates: 200,000 mourn at Vatican
In a post on his Truth Social platform, he said “there was no reason” for the Russian president “to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days”.
The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope’s funeral
He added: “It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through ‘Banking’ or ‘Secondary Sanctions?’ Too many people are dying!!!”
The meeting between the US and Ukrainian leaders was their first face-to-face encounter since a very public row in the Oval Office in February.
Mr Zelenskyy said he had a good meeting with Mr Trump in which they talked about the defence of the Ukrainian people, a full and unconditional ceasefire, and a durable and lasting peace that would prevent the war restarting.
Other images released by the Ukrainian president’s office show Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron were present for part of the talks, which were described as “positive” by the French presidency.
Mr Zelenskyy‘s spokesman said the meeting lasted for around 15 minutes and he and Mr Trump had agreed to hold further discussions later on Saturday.
The world leaders shared a moment before the service
Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy meet in the Basilica
But the US president left Rome for Washington on Air Force One soon after the funeral without any other talks having taken place.
The Ukrainian president’s office said there was no second meeting in Rome because of the tight schedule of both leaders, although he had separate discussions with Mr Starmer and Mr Macron.
The French president said in a post on X “Ukraine is ready for an unconditional ceasefire” and that a so-called coalition of the willing, led by the UK and France, would continue working to achieve a lasting peace.
There was applause from some of the other world leaders in attendance at the Vatican when Mr Zelenskyy walked out of St Peter’s Basilica after stopping in front of the pontiff’s coffin to pay his respects.
Donald Trump and the Ukrainian president met for the first time since their Oval Office row. Pic: Reuters
Sir Tony Brenton, the former British ambassador to Russia, said the event presents diplomatic opportunities, including the “biggest possible meeting” between Mr Trump and the Ukrainian leader.
He told Sky News it could mark “an important step” in starting the peace process between Russia and Ukraine.
Professor Father Francesco Giordano told Sky News the meeting is being called “Pope Francis’s miracle” by members of the clergy, adding: “There’s so many things that happened today – it was just overwhelming.”
The bilateral meeting comes after Mr Trump’s peace negotiator Steve Witkoff held talks with Mr Putin at the Kremlin.
They discussed “the possibility of resuming direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine”, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said.
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Russia and Ukraine have not held direct talks since the early weeks of the war, which began in February 2022.
Mr Trump has claimed a deal to end the war is “very close” and has urged Mr Zelenskyy to “get it done” in a post on his Truth Social platform.
He has previously warned both sides his administration would walk away from its efforts to achieve a peace if the two sides do not agree a deal soon.
Meanwhile, the Polish armed forces said a Russian military helicopter violated its airspace over the Baltic Sea on Friday evening.
“The nature of the incident indicates that Russia is testing the readiness of our air defence systems,” they said in a post on X.
On an extraordinary day, remarkable pictures on the margins that capture what may be a turning point for the world.
In a corner of St Peter’s Basilica before the funeral of Pope Francis, the leaders of America and Ukraine sit facing each other in two solitary chairs.
They look like confessor and sinner except we cannot tell which one is which.
Leaning forward hands together in their laps, Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy stare at each other in one photo.
In another, the Ukrainian president seems to be remonstrating with the US president. This is their first encounter since their infamous bust-up in the Oval Office.
The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope’s funeral
Other pictures show the moment their French and British counterparts introduced the two men. There is a palpable sense of nervousness in the way the leaders engage.
We do not know what the two presidents said in their brief meeting.
But in the mind of the Ukrainian leader will be the knowledge President Trump has this week said America will reward Russia for its unprovoked brutal invasion of his country, under any peace deal.
Mr Trump has presented Ukraine and Russia with a proposal and ultimatum so one-sided it could have been written in the Kremlin.
Kyiv must surrender the land Russia has taken by force, Crimea forever, the rest at least for now. And it must submit to an act of extortion, a proposed deal that would hand over half its mineral wealth effectively to America.
The world leaders shared a moment before the service
Afterwards, Zelenskyy said it had been a good meeting that could turn out to be historic “if we reach results together”.
They had talked, he said, about the defence of Ukraine, a full and unconditional ceasefire and a durable and lasting peace that will prevent a war restarting.
The Trump peace proposal includes only unspecified security guarantees for Ukraine from countries that do not include the US. It rules out any membership of Ukraine.
Ukraine’s allies are watching closely to see if Mr Trump will apply any pressure on Vladimir Putin, let alone punish him for recent bloody attacks on Ukraine.
Or will he simply walk away if the proposal fails, blaming Ukrainian intransigence, however outrageously, before moving onto a rapprochement with Moscow.
If he does, America’s role as guarantor of international security will be seen effectively as over.
This could be the week we see the world order as we have known it since the end of the Second World War buried, as well as a pope.
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