Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia have agreed to impose national sanctions on Georgian officials they claim are cracking down on protests in Georgia, outgoing Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis announced on Sunday.
“The three Baltic States jointly agreed to impose national sanctions against those who suppressed legitimate protests in Georgia,” Landsbergis posted on X platform.
“Opponents of democracy and violators of human rights are not welcome in our countries,” he added.
The Foreign Ministry told BNS that the sanctions target ten senior officials of Georgia’s Interior Ministry.
The move comes after riot police in Tbilisi used rubber bullets, water cannons and tear gas against protesters, who in turn threw pyrotechnics at officers.
On Sunday, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda condemned the use of force against the Georgian opposition protesters and called for a new parliamentary election, echoing the demands of President Salome Zourabichvili.
Thousands of people gathered in Tbilisi and other cities for rallies after Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze announced on Thursday the government’s decision to delay the country’s EU accession bid until 2028.
The prime minister’s announcement came in response to a European Parliament resolution refusing to recognise the results of Georgia’s October 26 parliamentary election due to alleged “significant irregularities”.
The Caucasian nation has faced turmoil since the ruling Georgian Dream party claimed victory in the October 26 parliamentary election. Opposition groups claim the vote was rigged, while both the ruling party and the country’s electoral commission say the poll was free and fair.
A report by the observation mission of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) stated that “[e]lection day was generally procedurally well-organized and administered in an orderly manner but marked by a tense environment and several incidents of physical altercations and widespread intimidation of voters, as well as citizen observers”.
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