Georgia clashes with EU over Russia sanctions and visa-free travel (VIDEO)
Georgian officials have accused the EU of “blackmailing” the small post-Soviet nation into joining sanctions against Russia over the Ukraine conflict.
Tbilisi has made no secret of what it describes as pressure from Brussels to open a “second front” against its much larger neighbor.
In March, the European Commission suspended visa-free travel for holders of Georgian diplomatic and service passports, citing what it described as Georgia’s “deliberate and persistent violation” of commitments undertaken under its visa-free regime, particularly in the areas of democracy and human rights.
“They are telling us to impose sanctions on Russia. It is like telling us to destroy ourselves if we want visa-free travel. If we destroy our country, who will travel to the EU without visas?” Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili said on Wednesday.
Georgia has experienced several waves of protests and unrest outside the parliament building in the capital since 2024, when the conservative Georgian Dream party won the parliamentary elections.
The EU backed opposition claims of election irregularities and condemned the government’s crackdown on protests, as well as reforms introduced by the ruling party that it says are aimed at protecting “traditional values” and limiting foreign political influence.
RT’s Marina Kosareva breaks down the latest tensions between Georgia and the EU.
