Lavrov points to Western attempts to "replay" election results in Georgia

The West is trying to "replay" the results of the election in Georgia in its own interests, covering it up with concern for democracy. This was stated by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on December 30.

"What is happening in Georgia is a consequence of the application of 'double standards', when under the pretext of imaginary concern for democracy and human rights everything is being done to 'replay' the results of elections certified as free even by such a structure with a tarnished reputation as the OSCE ODIHR (Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights. - Ed.)," he told TASS.

"It is necessary to "replay", the diplomat explained, because the choice of Georgia's citizens did not please "puppeteers in Washington and Brussels. Thus, he believes, interference in the internal affairs of states, including Russia's closest neighbors, has long been part of the foreign policy arsenal of Western leaders. This tool has been used by the West for many years to eliminate the unwanted and contain geopolitical rivals, for example, in Yugoslavia, Iraq, Libya, Syria and Ukraine.

Currently, the U.S. and the EU are trying to put Georgia before a false choice - to be with them or against them, the Minister pointed out. At the same time, Tbilisi apparently keeps the course on sovereign policy and maintaining national interests, Lavrov admitted.

"I have no doubt that the Georgian people understand everything and will move forward. For our part, we are not going to interfere in Georgia's internal affairs. We are determined to normalize Russian-Georgian relations exactly to the extent that Tbilisi is ready for it," he concluded.

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EU fails to agree sanctions against ruling party

Earlier, on December 27, the U.S. Treasury Department added former Georgian Prime Minister and founder of the Georgian Dream party Bidzina Ivanishvili to the anti-Russian sanctions list. He served as prime minister from October 2012 to November 2013. Acting Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, in turn, linked these restrictions to the fact that Ivanishvili defends the national interests of Georgia.

Before that, parliamentary and presidential elections were held in the country. For the first time the candidate for the post of head of state was voted for not by citizens, but by a panel of 300 electors. Mikhail Kavelashvili, a candidate from the Georgian Dream party, won.

After that, on December 22, Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili, whose powers expire on December 29, gave the authorities a week to call new parliamentary elections. On that day, she joined protests in Tbilisi. On the same day, Prime Minister Kobakhidze said that if the President decides to call new parliamentary elections or refuses to leave the residence of the head of state, it will threaten her with criminal responsibility.

Thus, Zurabishvili refused to leave the post of the head of state. This comes amid ongoing protests in Georgia over the suspension of negotiations on European integration and opposition disagreement with the results of the parliamentary elections held in late October, the results of which Zurabishvili also does not recognize.