Russia: “Georgia is being like Ukraine. It usually ends very badly.”

Police injured, protesters arrested, in another day of protests in several cities across the country. Medvedev left a warning.

Five people were detained in Georgia, two of whom were accused of crimes punishable by sentences of up to seven years in prison, and at least 20 police officers were injured in the protests in several cities across the country, including Tbilisi.

Thousands of opponents pro-Europeans met again on Sunday at the Georgian parliament to demand new elections and the resignation of the Governmentwhich decided freeze by 2028 the start of negotiations on membership of the European Union (UE).

“Employees of the Tbilisi Police Department of the Ministry of Interior filed a complaint against two people for attacking police officers performing their official duties and causing damage,” the Georgian Ministry of Interior said in a statement.

Protests over the previous three days led to violent clashes between pro-European opponents and the police, who used tear gas and water cannons to disperse the protesters. At least 44 people were hospitalized on Saturday, the third night of protests. Since the protests began, there have been no 224 people detained for “minor acts of vandalism and resistance to the police”.

Meanwhile, Georgia’s pro-Western head of state, Salome Zurabishvili, said the pro-European mobilization “shows no signs of stopping”.

Also this Sunday, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, left the door “open” for Georgia to resume the path towards the European Union.

However, he pointed out: “We regret that the Georgian leadership has moved away from the European Union and its values. The EU supports the people of Georgia and their choice for a European future. The EU door remains open. Georgia’s return to the EU path is in the hands of the Georgian leadership.”

Already head of EU diplomacy, Kaja Kallas, admitted sanctions or other penalties against the Georgian government for the repression of pro-European protests in the country’s capital, classifying the use of violence as “unacceptable”.

Dmitry Medvedev, former president of Russia and now vice-president of the Russian Security Council, warned: “Georgia is quickly following Ukraine’s pathtowards the dark abyss. Normally, these kinds of things ends very badly“.