Russia accuses US of stoking anti-Kremlin campaign in Georgia

Bloomberg

Russia accused the US of stoking mass anti-government protests in neighbouring Georgia that were triggered by public anger at Moscow’s influence in the ex-Soviet nation.
The surge in tensions came after at least 240 people were hurt in clashes between police and demonstrators in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi.
Protesters were angered by pictures of a Russian lawmaker, Sergei Gavrilov, sitting in the speaker’s chair in Georgia’s parliament during a meeting of legislators from Orthodox Christian countries.
Relations between the two countries have been tense since Georgia and Russia fought a war in 2008 over the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which the Kremlin later recognised as independent. The two territories are considered part of Georgia under international law. Many of the protesters accuse the ruling Georgian Dream government of being too willing to accommodate Russia, which they say occupies 20 percent of the country.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov pinned the blame for the unrest on what he termed “geopolitical engineering of our Western colleagues.” The US and its allies are “willing to turn a blind eye to ultra-nationalists, Russophobia, in order to cut off ties between the people of Georgia and our country,” Lavrov said in a speech in Moscow.
As the protests extended into a fourth straight day, Russia continued to raise pressure on its tiny neighbour.
That followed President Vladimir Putin‘s decision to suspend flights between Russia and Georgia from July 8 and to press tour operators to stop selling holiday packages to the popular tourist destination visited by 1.4 million Russians last year. Putin’s decision prompted a backlash in Russia, with nearly 20,000 signing an online petition that demands the Kremlin cancel the ban because Russians aren’t at risk in Georgia.