UN Secretary-General Guterres urged parties to the conflict in Georgia to avoid steps that could lead to an escalation

UN, March 9 – RIA Novosti. UN Secretary General’s Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq told RIA Novosti that UN Secretary-General António Guterres urged the parties to the conflict in Georgia to avoid steps that would escalate tensions.

“The Secretary-General is monitoring the situation in Georgia. He urges all parties concerned to refrain from any action that could lead to escalation of the people’s right to peaceful protest,” Haq said.

On the morning of March 7, protests began in front of the Georgian parliament building in Tbilisi. Its participants opposed the adoption of the bill on foreign agents, which was approved at the first reading that day. Earlier, the Georgian parliament passed a bill on transparency of foreign influence, in which it is proposed to create a register in the country of non-governmental organizations, media and organizations that receive funding from a foreign state. The initiators of the bill claim that it is a relaxed version of American law. The opposition and US Ambassador to Georgia Kelly Degnan had previously reported that the bill had nothing to do with US law and was similar to the law in force in Russia.