**U.S. Halts Strategic Partnership with Georgia Over EU Accession Pause Amid Protests**

The United States has ceased its strategic alliance with Georgia, expressing strong disapproval of the country's decision to halt its European Union accession efforts amidst major public demonstrations. According to the U.S. State Department, this move by the ruling Georgian Dream party contradicts the national commitment to pursue full integration into the EU and NATO, a promise solidified within the Georgian constitution.

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze declared the suspension of EU accession talks last Thursday, following the European Parliament's criticism of the country's recent elections as "neither free nor fair." Since this announcement, thousands of protesters have taken to the streets, and tensions reached a tipping point on Saturday night when part of the Georgian parliament building caught fire, as reported by sources on the ground to POLITICO. In response, police employed water cannons, tear gas, and pepper spray to disperse the demonstrators, actions that the State Department condemned as "excessive use of force."

On the same day, Georgian media reported that David Zalkaliani, Georgia's ambassador to the U.S., had resigned from his position. Zalkaliani had held the ambassadorial post since April 2022. This resignation underscores the mounting internal and international pressures facing Georgia's current administration.

Following the contested Oct. 26 election, which saw the Moscow-aligned Georgian Dream party declare victory despite allegations of election fraud from opposition parties, the EU paused Georgia's membership process on Oct. 30. EU leaders stated that the country had "gone backwards" in the wake of its electoral and legislative controversies. Notably, nearly 80 percent of Georgians appear to favor EU membership according to some polls, yet the government has steered closer to Russia, creating a significant rift with the Western alliance.

The EU had granted Georgia candidate status last year, but this accession journey hit a significant roadblock in May when lawmakers from the Georgian Dream Party enacted a Russian-style law branding Western-supported NGOs as "foreign agents" and began imposing severe restrictions on LGBTQ+ rights. The U.S. has since sanctioned Georgian Dream legislators deemed responsible for undermining democratic principles and for their heavy-handed responses to previous widespread protests over the summer.