Protests in Georgia resemble the 2014 Euromaidan coup in Kiev: Lavrov

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
10 Mar 2023 19:50

Russian FM said that the recent riots in Tbilisi against disputed draft legislation on foreign influence mirror the 2014 Euromaidan coup in Ukraine.

Protesters shout slogans during a rally against a draft law aimed at curbing the influence of "foreign agents" near the Georgian parliament building in Tbilisi, Georgia, Friday, March 10, 2023 (AP Photo/Shakh Aivazov)

On Friday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that recent riots in Tbilisi against disputed draft legislation on foreign influence mirror the 2014 Euromaidan coup in Ukraine, describing the European Union's stance on Georgia as "hypocritical."

Earlier in the day, the Georgian parliament voted against the bill on Transparency of Foreign Influence in its second reading, after the first reading approval sparked a series of mass protests in Tbilisi, with the opposition demanding that the bill be withdrawn and for all detained demonstrators to be released.

Despite meeting their demands on the withdrawal of the bill, protestors reaffirmed their resolve to continue fighting for what they described as Georgia's European identity.

"It resembles the Euromaidan coup in Kiev. Undoubtedly, a law on the registration of those non-governmental organizations that receive foreign funding in the amount of only 20% of their budget was just used as an excuse to start an attempt of a forceful change of power," Lavrov said.

He added that the attitude of EU foreign policy head Josep Borrell, who described the bill as incompatible with EU principles and counterproductive for Georgia's efforts to join the EU bloc, was "clear hypocrisy."

Back in 2013, a series of protests called Euromaidan erupted in Ukraine against the authorities' decision to suspend the ascension process into the EU.

The protests swiftly became anti-presidential and anti-government, with the country's opposition calling for a national revolution.

Due to the authorities' decision to cease the strategy aiming at EU integration, a series of protests called Euromaidan erupted in Ukraine in November 2013. The protests swiftly became anti-presidential and anti-government, with the country's opposition calling for a national revolution.

More than a hundred people were killed during conflicts between Ukrainian security forces and protestors. The demonstrations eventually escalated into a coup, which ended resulted in usurping then-President Viktor Yanukovych in February 2014.