Mikheil Kavelashvili, a hardline critic of the West, was sworn in as president of Georgia on Sunday amid a political crisis after the government froze European Union application talks in a move that sparked major protests.

Mikheil Kavelashvili sworn in as Georgia’s president amid protests, EU tensions, and accusations of electoral fraud by outgoing leader Salome Zourabichvili.

Mikheil Kavelashvili was sworn in as Georgian president in a ceremony in parliament in Tbilisi on Sunday, despite weeks of protests and the refusal of his predecessor, Salome Zourabichvili, to stand aside.