International Media on Recent Developments in Georgia

The recent large-scale demonstrations and protests in Tbilisi, caused by a Russian MP seating himself in the seat of the Georgian Parliament Speaker, have caught the eye of international media. Foreign media platforms, such as The Guardian, BBC and others, have commented on the incident.

“Thousands had rallied through the night outside the building in the center of the capital, Tbilisi, after a Russian MP was allowed to chair a session of parliament on Thursday,” reads the article of The Guardian, noting that the police used water cannons and rubber bullets, “leaving dozens requiring medical treatment.”

It also briefs about the Georgian-Russian relations and recalls the war of 2008.

“Protesters have attempted to storm Georgia's parliament during a mass rally against a speech made inside the chamber by a Russian lawmaker,” stated the BBC, also informing the readers about the case and the previous tensions between Georgia and Russia.

German Deutsche Welle writes: “Russian political influence is a sensitive issue in the former Soviet republic — particularly after a brief war in 2008 that saw it lose control of the regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, which both have sizeable Russian populations.”

“About 10,000 protesters had gathered outside parliament after a controversial address by Russian MP Sergei Gavrilov. Some broke through riot police cordons to enter the parliament courtyard,” reads the article published by Al Jazeera.

Russia Today, Reuters, Daily Sabah, as well as Associated Press, were also among those media outlets to comment on the incident.

By Ketevan Kvaratskheliya

Image source: Daily Sabah