Georgian interior minister appointed as deputy prime minister

TBILISI. Dec 20 (Interfax) - Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze signed a decree on Friday to appoint Interior Minister Vakhtang Gomelauri to the post of deputy prime minister.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury imposed sanctions on Gomelauri and deputy director of the Georgian Interior Ministry's Special Tasks Department Mileri Lagazauri the day before.

"Today, the Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is sanctioning two Georgian officials from Georgia's Ministry of Internal Affairs which has engaged in brutal crackdowns on media members, opposition figures, and protesters," the Department of the Treasury said in a statement.

The UK authorities, for their part, said earlier they had decided to sanction the Georgian interior minister, his deputy Alexander Darakhvelidze, Tbilisi police chief Sulkhan Tamazashvili, director of the Interior Ministry's Special Tasks Department Zviad Kharazishvili and his deputy Lagazauri.

These individuals "face UK travel bans and asset freezes," the UK authorities said in a statement.

The Interior Ministry said on Friday that 171 police officers have sustained injuries and burns by fireworks during protests in Tbilisi since November 28.

Georgia held a parliamentary election on October 26. The ruling Georgian Dream party was declared the winner. This led to a series of protests to demand the annulment of the election results.

A new wave of protests began after Prime Minister Kobakhidze said on November 28 that Tbilisi would not start EU membership talks with Brussels before 2028 and would reject any EU budget grant until then.