Russia accuses West of trying to influence upcoming Georgian parliamentary elections

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - The Kremlin on Tuesday accused the West of trying to influence Georgia’s upcoming parliamentary elections scheduled to take place later this month.

“We see blatant attempts by Western countries to put pressure on the current authorities of Georgia and to exert direct, undisguised influence on the course of the election campaign,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in the capital Moscow.

Expressing that the forthcoming polls are “none of our business,” Peskov said Russia is in no way interfering in the country’s internal affairs and will not do so.

“You know all the complications in our bilateral relations [with Georgia], which, at the same time, do not hinder the development of humanitarian ties between the societies and peoples of the two countries,” Peskov said, adding that people continue to travel between both countries.

The ruling Georgian Dream party will seek a fourth term in office in the Oct. 26 elections.

The vote comes amid growing tensions with the West after the adoption of a controversial "foreign agents" law, officially known as the Transparency of Foreign Influence law.

The US and the EU have since frozen financial assistance, with the latter also stalling the country’s EU accession process "for the time being."