The United States is suspending the strategic partnership agreement with Georgia, the Department of State announced. His spokesman Matthew Miller said that the decision of the local government to suspend talks on admission to the European Union is a “betrayal of the Georgian constitution.” President Andrzej Duda talked with the President of Georgia, Salome Zourabishvili. His office said that he consistently supports the “long-standing aspirations of the Georgian people to be part of the European Union.”
“The decision of Georgian Dream (the ruling party – ed.) to suspend accession to the EU is a betrayal of the Georgian constitution. We condemn the excessive force used against Georgians exercising their freedom to protest and have suspended our Strategic Partnership with Georgia,” wrote Matthew Miller on the X platform.
About that Georgia suspends talks on the country's membership in the European Union until 2028, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze announced on Thursday. Since then, anti-government demonstrations of thousands of people have been taking place in the country.
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On Saturday, Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili announced that she would remain in office until – as she said – the legal parliament elects a new president. The pro-Western leader and the opposition do not recognize the results of the October parliamentary elections, which – according to official results – were won by the Georgian Dream party.
Andrzej Duda appeals to “listen to the voice of citizens”
Also on Saturday Chancellery of the President Republic of Poland informed that Andrzej Duda spoke to Zurabishvili by phone.
According to the office, the president presented the situation in Georgia and described the course of grassroots and spontaneous social protests that have been ongoing for two days, and also expressed her deep concern about the prospect of increasing tensions, escalation of the internal conflict and a serious constitutional crisis in Georgia.
“President Andrzej Duda consistently supports the long-standing aspirations of the Georgian nation to be part of the European Union. This goal is enshrined in the Constitution of Georgia and, according to all surveys, it enjoys the support of the vast majority of Georgian society,” the office noted.
“The decision of the government in Tbilisi to completely suspend accession negotiations and, in fact, to freeze relations with the EU, is a painful blow to these aspirations and brings very serious damage both to Georgia itself and to the European Union. This radical move, clearly in the interests of Russia, contradicts the pre-election declarations of the Georgian Dream and therefore bears the hallmarks of electoral fraud,” she added.
The KPRP also noted that this prompts a thorough examination of all doubts regarding the course of the parliamentary elections in Georgia on October 26.
“The unprecedented scale of the current demonstrations, as well as the public opposition of numerous representatives of the Georgian administration, prove the deep disappointment and concern about the government's decision in Georgian society, but also the great determination to return to the path of integration with the European Union. At the same time, information appearing in media reports about the brutality in the suppression protests and the threat of bloodshed raise great concern about the future course of events in Georgia,” it added.
“Therefore, President Andrzej Duda appeals to the Georgian government for moderation and prudence, to listen to the voice of citizens and withdraw from decisions that are contrary to their will, to be open to clarifying all doubts related to the course of the last parliamentary elections and to be ready to call new, free elections. from all doubts and suspicions,” summarized the statement from the Chancellery of the President.
Vote fraud, voter intimidation
At the beginning of November, two American research centers carried out research at the request of the Georgian opposition polls exit poll after the parliamentary elections, questioned the official results announced by the Central Electoral Commission. International observers including OSCEacknowledged that violations such as voter fraud, voter intimidation and bribery may have influenced the election, but did not explicitly state that they were fraudulent.
The president of Georgia then explained to AFP that electronic voting was used for fraud in the parliamentary elections. Zurabishvili said that identical ID card numbers sometimes corresponded to a dozen or 20 votes cast in different regions of Georgia.
According to the Georgian president, “classic” methods were also used, such as “buying votes, pressure on public sector employees” as well as on the families of prisoners who could be promised release. Zurabishvili also said that “money was openly distributed in minibuses at the exit from the voting stations.”
Main photo source: DAVID MDZINARISHVILI/PAP