Georgian president calls government illegitimate, claiming rigged election

Salome Zourabichvili says she will not stand down as parliament is invalid, after PM halts EU accession talks

The Georgian president, Salome Zourabichvili, has called the country's government illegitimate and said she would not leave office when her term ends next month, defying the prime minister as he accused pro-EU opposition forces of plotting revolution.

The South Caucasus country was thrown into crisis on Thursday when the prime minister of the Georgian Dream party, Irakli Kobakhidze, said it was halting EU accession talks for the next four years over what it called blackmail" of Georgia by the bloc, abruptly reversing a long-standing national goal.