Foreign powers pressed Georgia to escalate with Russia at Ukraine war start — Speaker

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili reiterated the potential consequences Georgia could have faced had it escalated tensions with Russia at the start of the Ukraine conflict.

Papuashvili warned on his Facebook page that if those in power in Georgia at the outset of the Ukraine war had acted as flatterers serving foreign interests instead of as a national government, the country would now be preoccupied not with smart investment or education reform, but with mourning the dead and rebuilding from destruction, Caliber.Az reports.

“Those foreigners who demanded escalation with Russia and did not acknowledge the war at its end were either naïve themselves or we appeared naïve to them,” he wrote.

Papuashvili also highlighted that following foreign demands for escalation without security guarantees would have meant sacrificing Georgia, and that many European politicians under NATO’s umbrella similarly pushed for confrontation without fully considering the risks.

He urged reflection on the lessons of these early demands and the importance of national decision-making in matters of war and peace.

Following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Georgia condemned the aggression but refused to join Western-led economic and financial sanctions against Moscow — a “pragmatic neutrality” framed as protecting its national interests.

At the same time, Georgia provided humanitarian aid to Ukraine, accepted tens of thousands of Ukrainian refugees, and supported numerous international resolutions condemning Russia’s aggression — a balancing act between solidarity and caution.

Analysts warn that a decision by Tbilisi to escalate militarily or join sanctions could have provoked retaliation from Russia, potentially drawing Georgia into war or economic collapse given its proximity, unresolved territorial conflicts, and dependence on Russian trade.

This balancing act has gradually strained Georgia’s path toward the West: despite applying for European Union membership in 2022, limited progress on required reforms and discord between declared ambitions and foreign policy choices have raised doubts about its alignment.

By Jeyhun Aghazada