Lithuanian president: Georgia risks repeating Belarus’ scenario

VILNIUS – Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda warns that Georgia risks repeating the scenario of Belarus, as the country's ruling party is holding back the process of Eurointegration.

“Georgia risks repeating the scenario of Belarus”, a press release from the presidential office quoted Nauseda as saying after a phone conversation with Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili on Friday.

He stressed that Lithuania strongly supports the European Parliament's call for new parliamentary elections in Georgia.

According to Nauseda, although the majority of the country's population supports membership of the European Union (EU), the government is currently moving “in the opposite direction from a democratic society”.

“The government's decision to completely suspend the EU accession negotiations is a severe blow to the country's Eurointegration aspirations, which clearly contradicts the democratic values of the people of Georgia and is in line with Russia's interests,” the Lithuanian leader said.

Tens of thousands of people have filled the streets regularly in recent weeks since the governing Georgian Dream party decided to suspend negotiations on joining the 27-nation EU. Police have increasingly used force and intimidation in their attempts to break up the rallies.

Former soccer player Mikheil Kavelashvili became president of Georgia earlier in December, as the ruling party tightened its grip in what the opposition calls a blow to the country’s EU aspirations and a victory for former imperial ruler Russia.

Kavelashvili, 53, who was the only candidate on the ballot, easily won the vote given the Georgian Dream party’s control of a 300-seat electoral college that replaced direct presidential elections in 2017.

Kavelashvili’s inauguration is scheduled for December 29.

Western countries, including Lithuania, have imposed sanctions on Georgia’s ruling party and representatives of the Georgian Dream party for human rights violations.