Georgia: activists protest near hotel in which daughter of Russia’s Foreign Minister Lavrov is allegedly staying

Representatives of Georgia’s opposition parties and civic activists are gathering near the Kvareli Lake Resort in the Kakheti province where, allegedly, Ekaterina Lavrova, daughter of Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, is currently staying, Radio Liberty’s Georgian Service and TV channel Mtavari report.

UPDATE 6:35 PM
Georgia’s President Salome Zourabichvili says that Lavrov’s family has left Georgia and will not be celebrating a wedding in the town of Kvareli.

“I have finally received confirmation from the Minister of Internal Affairs that the family, the people who were planning to celebrate the second day of a wedding, had gone. The wedding will not be taking place. This is a victory for the public, just like Gavrilov’s departure was,” she adds.

According to Mtavari, the activists egged a minibus with Russian guests inside.

It is reported that several hundreds of police officers arrived at the scene, with the perimeter now secured.

The TV channel also reports that five activists were detained near the hotel; the police officers are jamming the signal in the area and seizing journalists’ phones.

According to Radio Liberty, one of the detainees is a member of the National Movement of Tbilisi’s City Council Irakli Edzgveradze.

Yesterday, Mtavari reported, citing sources, that Lavrov’s daughter was in Georgia. According to the TV channel, the minister’s relatives came to the country for a wedding of Ekaterina’s husband’s brother. The celebrations were supposed to take place at the Kvareli Lake Resort.

Media outlet Paper notes that Lavrov’s relatives are on the US and EU sanctions lists; the Georgian authorities have not yet officially confirmed the presence of Lavrov’s daughter in the country.

A member of the National Movement Nika Melia, who came down to the hotel in the morning, claims that the hotel’s employees confirmed Ekaterina’s presence in the building to him.

“This is a vulgar and cynical attitude towards Georgia’s citizens by Putin and Lavrov. <…> The entire world has to realise that this (Georgian — editor’s note) and Putin’s governments are connected. There’s no Georgian government in the country, there’s a Russian government in the country,” he said.

However, a representative of the hotel told Radio Liberty’s Georgian Service that Ekaterina Lavrova was not present at the premises of the hotel.