Georgia PM says 'won battle' with pro-EU protesters as crisis deepens

Tbilisi: Georgia s Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Friday claimed victory in a battle against the pro Western opposition, even as the post elect...

Tbilisi: Georgia's Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Friday claimed victory in a "battle" against the pro-Western opposition, even as the post-election crisis fuelled by his suspension of EU talks showed no signs of easing.

Tbilisi has been engulfed in turmoil since the governing Georgian Dream party -- accused by critics of creeping authoritarianism and steering the country back towards Russia -- declared that it had won a disputed October election.

Tens of thousands have taken to the streets to protest against alleged electoral fraud, with Kobakhidze's shock announcement last week that EU-candidate Tbilisi would not seek to open accession talks until 2028 triggering a new wave of mass demonstrations.

Since then, pro-EU protests in the capital Tbilisi have seen police making arrests and deploying tear gas and water cannons against the demonstrators.

But with lower turnout over the last two nights, and no clashes between protesters and riot police, Kobakhidze on Friday hailed his security forces for "successfully neutralising the protesters' capacity for violence".