The Georgian leadership’s “reckless internal and foreign policy is confronted by increasingly large-scale rejection from the own population,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on May 23, which was released in connection to the protest rallies held in Georgia.

“According to the media reports, on May 21 and May 22 clashes occurred between the police and participants of the mass protest rallies in Batumi and Tbilisi, which were demanding resignation of the Georgian government and M. Saakashvili. According to the protesters, the police used batons and rubber bullets. Several participants of the rallies sustained bodily injuries,” reads a written statement by Konstantin Dolgov, the Russian Foreign Ministry's special representative for human rights, democracy and rule of law.

“We are deeply disturbed by these reports,” the statement continues. “Actions of this kind by the regime of M. Saakashvili can not be assessed otherwise than impeding exercising by the people and political forces the legal right of freedom of assembly and expression, enshrined in particular by the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.”

“If the Georgian authorities do not cease use of forceful methods, it will lead to further escalation between the authorities and opposition and will further destabilize situation in the country.”

“These actions by Tbilisi represent an obvious confirmation that sheer unwillingness to face the truth is hidden behind the Georgian authorities’ demagoguery rhetoric on caring about the human rights and democratic freedoms.”

The “truth”, which the Russian MFA said, the Georgian authorities did not want to face, was that “reckless internal and foreign policy of the country’s leadership is confronted by increasingly large-scale rejection from the own population.”

“We hope that the Georgian side will at last start to fully follow its international commitments in the area of human rights. We will continue to watch closely situation in this regard,” the statement reads.