Police stormed on Tuesday the party offices of Georgian opposition leader Nika Melia and detained him.

The case against him dates back to anti-government protests in 2019, but comes amid a wider political crisis.

Nika Melia, who leads the opposition United National Movement, is accused of inciting violence in street protests in June 2019, and a court last week ordered his arrest for refusing to pay an increased bail fee in the case.

A distinguished fellow of Atlantic Council’s Future Europe Initiative and Eurasia Center, Daniel Fried told the Accent that all Georgian political forces share responsibility for seeking solutions, not posturing around maximalist demands.

“Georgia’s friends abroad have been dismayed and appalled by the recent escalation of political tensions, the latest example of which is the arrest of UNM leader Nika Melia. The Georgian government has special responsibility to find ways to de-escalate not inflame, tensions; arresting opposition leaders is the sort of thing that Putin likes to do. But all Georgian political forces share responsibility for seeking solutions, not posturing around maximalist demands,” Fried said.

According to him, confrontation in Georgia will benefit Georgia’s enemies.

“I, like many of Georgia’s friends, hope that Georgia can find inspiration in its best democratic and constitutional traditions that go back generations,” he added.

As the State Department's former Coordinator for Sanctions Policy, who crafted U.S. sanctions against Russia, the largest U.S. sanctions program to date, told the Accent, “Georgia’s leadership needs to act – with speed and determination – to deescalate the current standoff that is damaging Georgia’s standing in the world and benefits only Georgia’s enemies.”

“If they do, opposition parties need to respond and in any case need to behave with responsibility for their country. I don’t even want to speculate about sanctions or other actions that suggest such a profound failure of Georgia’s democracy.” Fried added.