Political

Maia Sandu discussed with Salome Zurabishvili: The Republic of Moldova and Georgia share the same aspiration for a peaceful and prosperous future in the EU

The Republic of Moldova and Georgia share the same aspiration for a peaceful and prosperous future in the European Union, said the head of state, Maia Sandu, following a phone conversation with the President of Georgia, Salome Zurabishvili. In this context, Maia Sandu said that she admires the Georgian people for their courage in defending democracy and the European path.

"I expressed the solidarity of the Republic of Moldova with the Georgian people and my personal admiration for their courage in defending democracy and the European path. Moldovans and Georgians share the same aspiration for a peaceful and prosperous future in the EU," wrote President Maia Sandu on the X platform.

Thousands of people gathered again, Saturday evening, on the streets of Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, continuing for the third night in a row the protests against the authorities. Clashes broke out between police and pro-European protesters outside the parliament building, who were expressing their dissatisfaction with the government's decision to postpone negotiations on the country's integration into the European Union until 2028, AFP reports.

Protests in Tbilisi and other cities on Thursday and Friday were broken up by police, who said nearly 150 people had been arrested for "disobedience and vandalism" and that at least 42 police officers had been injured.

Police, wearing masks and special crowd control uniforms, used rubber bullets, tear gas and water cannons to disperse protesters who were throwing fireworks. An AFP journalist saw flames erupting behind a window in the parliament building.

The US diplomacy condemned on Saturday the "disproportionate use of force by the police" against the pro-European protests that have been shaking Georgia and its government for three days. The opposition accuses the authorities of moving the country away from its goal of joining the European Union, according to AFP.

Also on Saturday, President Zurabishvili declared in a briefing that the parliament is illegitimate following the elections and assured that she does not intend to step down from office before the end of her term at the end of this year, emphasizing that the only legitimate institution in the country remains the presidency.

For his part, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze stated on Saturday that the state will not allow a revolution to take place. "The Maidan scenario cannot be realized in Georgia. Georgia is a state, and the state, of course, will not allow this," the prime minister said, quoted by Georgian media.

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