Georgien

Georgia’s ruling party and the opposition on Monday (19 April) signed an EU-mediated agreement to end a months-long political crisis that raised concerns in the West over the Caucasus country’s backsliding on democracy.

The jailed leader of Georgia's main opposition force has gone on trial in a case that has deepened a protracted postelection political crisis in the South Caucasus country.

The second round of European Union-mediated talks between Georgia’s ruling party and the opposition failed Wednesday (31 March) to resolve a political impasse sparked by elections last year, an EU mediator said.

EU-mediated negotiations between the Georgian ruling party and the opposition are yet to bear fruit, the South Caucasian country’s prime ministerial visit to Brussels revealed on Tuesday (16 March). EU’s top diplomat Josep Borrell called the current political situation in Georgia, a country with ambitions to join the EU, a “pivotal moment”.

After his visit to Tbilisi and unexpected mediation of the deepening political crisis in Georgia, European Council President Charles Michel said progress in talks between the ruling party and the opposition will be assessed in two weeks.

A group of MEPs on Tuesday (23 February) have asked European Council President Charles Michel to use his upcoming visit to Georgia to mediate between the government and the opposition, in a bid to appease the “rapidly deteriorating political situation” in the country.

Thousands of representatives of different opposition parties and civil rights activists rallied in front of Georgia's government building on February 23, demanding the immediate release of opposition leader Nika Melia after he was detained hours earlier when police stormed his party's offices.

Police in Georgia’s capital Tbilisi on Friday (19 February) detained dozens of pro-opposition demonstrators demanding snap polls, as a political crisis sparked by last year’s elections deepened.

The political crisis in Georgia is deepening as Prime Minister Georgi Gakharia stepped down on Thursday (18 February), citing his disagreement with the team on the court decision to arrest the main opposition party leader.

Russia committed a series of human rights violations during its war with Georgia in 2008, the European court of human rights ruled on Thursday, saying Moscow was responsible for the murder of Georgian civilians, and the looting and burning of their homes.