TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — Georgia's president on Monday urged the West to support opposition protests against the official results of a weekend parliamentary election in which the governing party was declared victorious amid voting irregularities and allegations of Russian meddling. Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili, who refused to recognize the official results, told The Associated Press in an interview that the South Caucasus nation has fallen victim to Russian pressure aimed at derailing its plans to join the European Union. “We’ve seen that Russian propaganda was directly used,” said Zourabichvili, a fierce critic of the governing party.
She said Georgia's government has been “working hand-in-hand with Russia" and probably had help from the Russian security services. On Sunday, Zourabichvili stood alongside opposition leaders and urged Georgians to join a rally on the main street of the capital, Tbilisi, on Monday night to protest what she called a “total falsification, a total stealing of your votes.” She told the AP that she expects the U.
S. and the EU to back the protests. “We need to have the firm support of our European partners, of our American partners,” Zourabichvili said.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on the social media platform X that “the Georgian people embraced democracy yesterday” and urged Georgia’s political leaders to “respect the rule of law, repeal legislation that undermines fundamental freedoms, address def.