Russian Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov Photo: Sergei Bobylev/TASS
The Kremlin on Tuesday demanded that the European Union and the United States stop delivering ultimatums to Georgia over Saturday’s disputed parliamentary elections. The election was won by the ruling Georgian Dream party, which advocates rapprochement with Russia, EFE news agency reported.
During his daily telephone press conference, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the West’s actions “absolutely unacceptable” and contrary to the norms of international relations, and called for them to stop. He also accused the EU and the US of “presenting literally ultimatums to the leaders of Georgia”.
“The winner of the election was the one voted for by the citizens of Georgia. We have no right, desire or intention to interfere in Georgia’s internal affairs. We have never done so,” Peskov stressed.
At the same time, the Georgian opposition accused the Russian Federation, in particular its Federal Security Service (FSB), of organising the victory of the Georgian Dream in the elections.
The European Union, which has suspended accession talks with Georgia due to the Tbilisi government’s rapprochement with Moscow, called on Georgian authorities to investigate possible election irregularities. The United States supported the EU’s calls, accusing the Georgian government of “misusing state resources, buying votes and intimidating voters”.
According to the US Department of State, such actions “created an uneven playing field and undermined public and international confidence in the integrity of the election”.
At the same time, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who arrived in Tbilisi, said that the parliamentary elections in Georgia were “free and democratic”.
During a protest rally on Monday, Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili accused the Georgian Dream of stealing the election and promised to return the country “to the European path”. “We did not lose the election, our votes were stolen, our future was stolen,” she said.
Following the announcement of the Georgian Dream’s victory, the four opposition coalitions that entered parliament refused to recognise the election results and announced that they would withdraw their mandates.
