Protests in Tbilisi as new Georgian president sworn in

Mikheil Kavelashvili, a hardline critic of the West, was sworn in as president of Georgia on Sunday amid a political crisis after the government froze European Union application talks in a move that sparked major protests.

Outgoing President Salome Zourabichvili, a pro-EU opponent of the ruling party, said in a defiant speech to supporters outside the presidential palace she was leaving the residence but that Kavelashvili had no legitimacy as president, which is a mostly ceremonial position.

She said: "I will come out of here and be with you. I am taking legitimacy with me, I am taking the flag with me, I am taking your trust with me."

Zourabichvili says Kavelashvili was not duly picked, as the lawmakers who chose him were elected in an October parliamentary election that she says was marked by fraud. Georgia's opposition parties support her.

The Georgian Dream ruling party and the country's election commission say the October election was free and fair. The ruling party says Kavelashvili is the duly elected president.

The presidential stand-off is seen as a watershed moment in Georgia, a mountainous country of 3.7 million that had until recently been regarded as pro-West.

Kavelashvili is a loyalist of Bidzina Ivanishvili, a reclusive billionaire ex-prime minister widely seen as Georgia's de facto leader.

On Friday, the U.S. imposed sanctions on Ivanishvili, saying he was spearheading Georgia's current anti-Western turn.

Protesters hold up red cards

Kavelashvili, a former professional soccer player who briefly played as a striker for Manchester City, has repeatedly accused Western intelligence agencies of plotting to drive Georgia into war with neighbouring Russia.

"The Georgian people have always understood that peace is the main prerequisite for survival and development," he said after being sworn in on Sunday.

Protesters outside parliament held up red cards in a mocking reference to Kavelashvili's athletic career. Thousands of pro-European protesters gathered in the capital Tbilisi to denounce the inauguration.

Georgian Dream got almost 54 per cent of the official vote in October's election.

Zourabichvili is backed by the country's four main pro-EU opposition parties, which have boycotted parliament since the election. They say she will remain the legitimate president until fresh elections are held.

The confrontation comes amid a month of demonstrations sparked by Georgian Dream's suspension of EU accession talks until 2028.

The move touched off widespread anger among Georgians and prompted a police crackdown, with over 400 people, including senior opposition leaders, detained.