Georgia has been rocked by protests after its increasingly autocratic government said it would halt the former Soviet country’s bid to join the European Union.

Georgia's ruling party said on Thursday that the country would suspend talks on European Union accession until 2028, while also refusing budgetary grants from Brussels, effectively halting its application to join the bloc,

STORY: Police clashed with pro-European Union protesters in the Georgian capital Tbilisi early on Friday. Demonstrations broke out overnight after the country’s ruling party said Thursday it would suspend talks on joining the EU until 2028.

Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili joined protesters in front of the parliament building in Tbilisi after protests erupted following the government’s decision to "suspend" EU accession talks. Source: European Pravda,