Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili deemed Saturday’s Christmas tree lighting outside Parliament a “meaningless provocation.”

The President stated at a Friday briefing at the Orbeliani Palace that “full responsibility for tomorrow’s events rests entirely with the Tbilisi Mayor.”

“It’s an apparent provocation since there have been two weeks of constant protests at that precise area and time. And, as a ‘farce’ is going place in Parliament tomorrow [referring to the presidential election], there will surely be a massive protest.

The purpose of tomorrow’s event at 7 p.m. in front of Parliament is clear to everybody.

In addition, the physicians claim that the facades of buildings on Rustaveli Avenue, as well as the trees, are already saturated with gas and that it is unlikely to be safe to bring children there.

I want to warn the city mayor that his provocation will probably cause nothing as the peaceful protests spread across the city tomorrow and will continue. They [protesters] will manage to avoid provocations themselves,” she remarked.

Zourabichvili recommended the mayor relocate the New Year tree lighting in front of the Orbeliani Palace on the Barbaroba holiday [or Saint Barbare’s Day; Saint Barbara is considered the Patron Saint of Children] on December 17.

“But no matter what happens, if something occurs, the responsibility will clearly be entirely and personally on him [the mayor],” Zurabishvili said.