Chaos in Georgia: Mass protests; Barricades errected PHOTO/VIDEO

President of Georgia, Salome Zourabichvili, condemned the attacks on journalists during a protest rally on Rustaveli Avenue on November 28 and 29, stating that they were "attacked while they were doing their job and continuously reporting," the Civil.ge portal reported.

Protesters clashed with Georgian police in Tbilisi on Thursday night after the ruling Georgian Dream party said the government would suspend negotiations on the country's entry into the EU and reject the Union's budget grants until 2028, RIA Novosti reported.

Demonstrators, who were pushed back by the police a few tens of meters away from the parliament building, threw trash cans and lit fires, and set up barricades made of improvised means, electric scooters and other objects.

The protest began in Tbilisi on Thursday evening after Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze announced the suspension of EU accession negotiations until the end of 2028, and President Salome Zourabichvili later appeared at an opposition rally.

Georgia's Ministry of Internal Affairs announced yesterday that three police officers were injured during the protest.

Relations between Georgia and the EU have deteriorated sharply in recent months as Brussels has alleged that the Georgian government has resorted to authoritarian measures and adopted a pro-Russian stance.

Yesterday, the European Parliament declared invalid the recently held parliamentary elections in Georgia, claiming that they "do not reliably represent the will of the Georgian people", and requested that new elections be held within a year, under international supervision, Politico reported.

The EP announcement states that 444 EP deputies voted in favor of the proposal to declare the elections invalid, while 72 of them voted against, and that the voting process was "neither free nor fair".

With this decision, the EP called on the European Commission and other EU institutions not to come into contact with the newly established government, formed by the Georgian Dream party.

MIA of Georgia: 43 people arrested during protests in Tbilisi, 32 police officers injured

The Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) of Georgia announced today that 43 people were arrested during the protests in Tbilisi, on charges of disturbing public order and disobeying police orders.

The MIA announced that 32 police officers were injured during the protest, 13 of them seriously, while one is still in the hospital, the Civil.ge portal reported.