Georgian PM says president must vacate office

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said on Sunday that President Salome Zourabichvili would have to leave office at the end of her term this month despite her statement that she will refuse to do so.

Zourabichvili said on Saturday she would stay in office because the new parliament was illegitimate and had no authority to name her successor.

Georgia, a country of 3.8 million people at the intersection of Europe and Asia, has been plunged into crisis since the governing Georgian Dream party said on Thursday it was halting European Union accession talks for the next four years.

Kobakhidze also dismissed the United States' decision to suspend its strategic partnership with Georgia as a "temporary event", saying Georgia would talk to the new administration of President-elect Donald Trump when it takes office in January.