Ex-soccer player becomes Georgia's president in blow to EU aspirations

Mikheil Kavelashvili reacts after he was elected the country's new president in the parliament in Tbilisi, Georgia, on Dec. 14, 2024. Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili, center, walks outside the parliament building as parliament members elect a new president in Tbilisi on Dec. 14, 2024. Antigovernment demonstrators gather outside the parliament building as parliament members elect a new president in Tbilisi on Dec. 14, 2024.

Former soccer player Mikheil Kavelashvili became president of Georgia on Saturday, as the ruling party tightened its grip in what the opposition calls a blow to the country's EU aspirations and a victory for former imperial ruler Russia.