FLASH
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Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, commenting on the protests that erupted over the weekend in Tbilisi, said that protesters who tried to force their way into the presidential palace last night were trying to overthrow the government. He accused the European Union of interfering in Georgia's internal affairs.
Georgian police used pepper spray and water cannon to clear demonstrators from the presidential palace in the capital Tbilisi on Saturday and arrested five activists, as the opposition staged a large demonstration on the day of local elections.
On Sunday, the State Security Service said it had discovered a large quantity of weapons, ammunition, explosives and a detonator in a forest outside Tbilisi, which it said were intended for "subversive acts" at Saturday's protest.
A Georgian national, identified only by the individual's initials, was said to have purchased the weapons on the orders of another Georgian fighting in Ukraine, according to the statement cited by the Interpress news agency.
Kobakhidze said up to 7,000 people attended Saturday's rally, but their "attempt to overthrow the constitutional order" had failed despite what he called support from Brussels.
He accused the EU ambassador, Paweł Herczynski, of interfering in Georgian politics and urged him to condemn the protests.
"You know that certain people from abroad have even expressed direct support for all of this, for the announced attempt to overthrow the constitutional order," Interpress quoted Kobakhidze as saying.
In a statement on Sunday, the EU's top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, and European Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kops, said the bloc "strongly rejects and condemns disinformation regarding the EU's role in Georgia and denounces personal attacks against the European Union Ambassador to Georgia."
The statement said the elections had taken place "amid a period of widespread repression of dissent" and called on authorities and civil society not to engage in violence.
The ruling Georgian Dream party claimed victory in every municipality across the South Caucasus country of 3.7 million people in Saturday's municipal elections, which were boycotted by the two largest opposition blocs.
Georgia's pro-Western opposition has been staging protests since October last year, when the Georgian Dream party won parliamentary elections that its critics say were rigged. The party has denied allegations of vote rigging.
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