A third night of protests in the Georgian capital against the government’s decision to suspend negotiations to join the European Union has left 44 people hospitalized.

More than 100 serving Georgian diplomats have signed an open letter criticizing the new government's suspension of EU accession talks, a diplomat said on Friday, and a protest against the move led to overnight clashes on the streets of the capital.

For the second evening in a row, large crowds of demonstrators gathered in Georgia to protest the government's decision to halt talks toward joining the European Union. Tens of thousands gathered in the capital Tbilisi and other observers confirmed that there were significantly more demonstrators on the streets than on Thursday evening.