THOUSANDS of demonstrators have again converged on the Georgia’s parliament in the capital Tbilisi.

They took to the streets on Tuesday night to oppose the governing party’s decision to suspend negotiations on joining the European Union.

Nearly 300 protesters were reportedly detained and 26 people, including three police officers, were hospitalised with injuries.

“The more force they use, the angrier people become, because everyone they arrest has relatives and everyone understands that this is injustice,” said Tamar Kordzaia, a member of the Unity National Movement opposition group.

The ruling Georgian Dream party retained control of parliament in a disputed October 26 parliamentary election, which was widely seen as a referendum on the country’s EU membership bid. 

The opposition and pro-Western President Salome Zourabichvili have, without evidence, accused the governing party of rigging the vote with Russia’s help and boycotted parliamentary sessions.

Fresh opposition protests were sparked by the governing party's decision on Thursday to put the EU accession talks on hold.

Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze of Georgian Dream declared on Tuesday that the government was willing to open EU accession talks if the bloc ends “blackmail.”

He said: “I want to remind European bureaucrats and politicians, including those who are artificially hindering our country’s European integration, to bring negotiations to the table and we will sign immediately, on the same day, at that very moment.”