The United States Department of State said this Saturday (30) that it has suspended strategic partnership with Georgia. The measure was taken after the ruling Georgian Dream party suspended the country’s negotiations to join the European Union.
“We condemn the excessive force used against Georgians who rightfully protest this betrayal of their constitution – the EU is a bulwark against the Kremlin,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller wrote on social media.
“Therefore, we have suspended our strategic partnership with Georgia.”
Georgian Dream’s decision to suspend EU accession is a betrayal of the Georgian constitution. We condemn excessive force used against Georgians exercising their freedom to protest and have suspended our Strategic Partnership with Georgia.
— Matthew Miller (@StateDeptSpox)
Understand the crisis in Georgia
The Caucasus country of Georgia, a former Soviet republic, has witnessed a wave of protests after Irakli Kobakhidze announced last week that the country had abandoned European Union membership talks.
On Friday (29), in the capital Tbilisi after the prime minister’s statement.
Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili is pro-West and in favor of negotiations. This Saturday (30), in December in protest against what he called an “illegitimate Parliament”.
Zourabichvili claims that the country’s last parliamentary elections, which took place in October, were a “sham” and a “special operation by Russia” to put the Georgian Dream party behind.
The party is accused of being pro-Russia and of having manipulated the parliamentary elections for its own benefit.
