Russia denounces Georgia protests as coup attempt

Moscow on Friday accused foreign countries of fomenting mass protests in Georgia, likening them to an attempted coup designed to sow tension on Russia's borders.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that several days of demonstrations in the Georgian capital Tbilisi reminded him of a Ukrainian uprising that ousted a Kremlin-friendly government in 2014.

Hundreds of Georgians rallied for a fourth day outside parliament, keeping up their calls for a pro-European future, as lawmakers dropped the controversial "foreign agent" legislation that triggered violent clashes between police and protesters this week.

The demonstrations point to turmoil over the future of Georgia, which aims to join the EU and NATO, much to the frustration of Moscow.

Russia invaded Georgia in 2008 and recognised two separatist territories in the north of the country as independent, stationing military bases there after the war.

"There is no doubt that the law on the registration of non-governmental organisations was used as an excuse to start, generally speaking, an attempt to change the government by force," said Lavrov.

The protests looked similar to "Kyiv's Maidan" uprising, he said, and "are of course being orchestrated from abroad" with the aim of creating "an irritant on the borders of Russia".

Critics of the Georgian bill say it resembles Russian legislation used to silence dissenters.

Reacting to the claims of foreign influence, French President Emmanuel Macron said: "There is a tendency in the Kremlin, which is not new, to imagine that every public demonstration is a foreign manipulation because the fundamental belief is that there is neither public opinion nor free people."

The Kremlin also criticised remarks from...