Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia declared about imposing sanctions in response to violence against peaceful protesters in Georgia.
This was reported by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia Margus Tsahkna.
The official said that the Baltic countries do not welcome "opponents of democracy" and "violators of human rights". The head of the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry Gabrielus Landsbergis expressed the same opinion.
According to the information of the Georgian broadcaster Pirveli, the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia Vakhtang Homelauri fell under the restrictions of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. The source of the TV channel said that "all [officials] responsible for dispersal of protest actions" were under the sanctions of the Baltic states. The restrictive measures include, among other things, a ban on entry into the territory of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia.
- The day before, at least five ambassadors of Georgia in different countries announced that they were resigning. Some were against the governmentʼs decision to postpone EU accession talks until 2028. Then the Georgian Foreign Ministry condemned the "pressure on the diplomatic service" of Tbilisi and "calls for sabotage".
What preceded
Parliamentary elections were held in Georgia in October. According to the Central Election Commission, the pro-ruling pro-Russian party "Georgian Dream — Democratic Georgia" won with 53.9% of the vote. According to Georgian laws, this party gets the right to single-handedly form the government.
The 5% barrier was overcome by four more pro-Western opposition parties. The opposition and the president did not agree with the results, protests began.
On November 28, 2024, the Prime Minister of Georgia Iraklii Kobakhidze declared that Georgia was abandoning negotiations on joining the EU until 2028. He explained that 2028 will supposedly be the time when Georgia will be economically ready to start accession negotiations. After that, new protests began in the country, which are dispersed by the Security Forces.
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