BRUSSELS, March 6 (Reuters) - The European Commission said on Friday it was suspending visa-free travel for holders of Georgian diplomatic, service and official passports in response to what it called a deliberate and persisting violation of the commitments taken under its visa-free regime.
"Representatives of Georgian authorities have to use their diplomatic or service passport when travelling to the EU for official and diplomatic purposes. Not doing so may result in the issuance of an entry ban," the Commission said in a statement.
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Once among the most democratic and pro-Western of the successor states to emerge from the Soviet Union, Georgia has turned increasingly authoritarian since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine and has deepened economic ties with neighbouring Russia.
(Reporting by Gianluca Lo Nostro; Editing by Makini Brice)
