"We Are On The Side Of Georgian People," U.S. Says As Protests Enter Fifth Day

The United States said on Monday it was 'on the side of Georgian people' as the South Caucasus country has been rocked by four consecutive nights of protests after the ruling Georgian Dream leaders decided to suspend EU accession talks, TURAN's Washington correspondent reports.

"We have made very clear that we are concerned with the steps that they have taken to move away from the path towards greater integration with Europe that they had been on and that we know the Georgian people support," State Department's Spokesperson Matthew Miller told a daily briefing when responding to TURAN's questions. "We are on the side of the Georgian people," he added.

Tens of thousands of protesters across Georgia have overtaken streets over the weekend rejecting police' using water cannons, tear gas and pepper spray to disperse the crowds, resulting in chaotic clashes.

In Washington, dozens of Georgian-Americans gathered outside the State Department Monday afternoon urging the Biden administration for swift actions against Georgia's ruling party officials.

Both the EU and the U.S. have condemned the excessive use of force by Georgian police against peaceful protesters with Washington suspending Strategic Partnership with Tbilisi due to “anti-democratic actions” by the ruling party.

Three Baltic States — Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, on Monday jointly announced to impose visa sanctions against those who suppressed legitimate protests in Georgia, increasing pressure on the Western capitals to follow suit and apply coordinated sanctions on sitting officials.

The common Baltic blacklist, published Monday afternoon, targets 11 Georgian figures with wisa bans, including Bidzina Ivanishvili, the secretive oligarch who tightly controls the ruling party and supports closer ties with Russia.

When pressed by if the U.S was willing to take punitive actions, Miller didn't rule out further measures saying that "we do not preview sanctions from this podium."

"We will – whenever we have sanctions announcements to make, we make them, and I know that you report on them when we do.  But even that said, you have already seen us impose sanctions on Georgian Government officials.  You have seen us impose visa restrictions.  You have seen us take other actions to suspend $95 million that we provided to the Georgian Government," he told TURAN's correspondent.