TIBLISI - The country's highly disputed parliamentary elections have drawn widespread condemnation, and Brussels says they should be re-run under international supervision within a year.

The prime minister of Georgia, Irakli Kobakhidze, has announced he is suspending his country's EU membership application process until the end of 2028.

His announcement came after the European Parliament condemned Georgia's 26 October parliamentary elections, stating they were neither free nor fair.

In a statement, Kobakhidze insisted that Georgia is a European country and that "it is our responsibility to make Georgia a full-fledged member of the European family," but that "Georgia-EU relations are bilateral and can only be bilateral."

"We are a proud and self-respecting nation with a long history. Therefore, it is categorically unacceptable for us to consider integration into the European Union as a favour that the European Union should grant us."