Georgia, which has been criticized for using "excessive force" to crack down on anti-government protests, has become increasingly authoritarian, according to Western governments.

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Saturday claimed the domestic radical opposition forces were behind “all violent groups that were acting” the previous days at the protest rallies outside the Parliament building in central Tbilisi against the Government’s decision to suspend the country’s European Union accession talks until 2028.

Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili has responded to the actions of security forces against protesters in Tbilisi who gathered on 28 November to peacefully protest against the government's refusal to negotiate with the EU.

Protesters rallied in Georgia’s capital for a fourth straight night on Sunday and there were signs that opposition was spreading across the country to the government’s decision to suspend talks on joining the European Union.