Why is the West imposing sanctions on Georgia? Expert insights on Caliber.Az

The West is imposing sanctions on Georgia for refusing to oppose Russia and open a second front, stated the Secretary-General of the ruling party Georgian Dream and Mayor of Tbilisi, Kakha Kaladze, according to the 1TV channel. "The West claims that Georgia has strayed from democratic principles. In 2024, sanctions were introduced by the US, the UK, Lithuania, and Estonia. Why are they doing this? There are reasons behind this: one of them is that we did not surrender the country, did not drag it into the war, and did not open a second front," said Kaladze.

He stated that there had been repeated calls for this in various offices, from specific ambassadors. However, Kaladze refrained from naming individuals, clarifying that this refers to the current stage. The politician stressed that Georgia would not be intimidated by sanctions or blackmail, and the government would stay on its course. He added that Georgia refrained from joining anti-Russian sanctions because doing so would harm the country and devastate its economy.

It raises the question: why did the West seek to involve Georgia in a war against Russia? Given Georgia’s potential, isn’t it clear that this would have led to the complete occupation of the country, essentially dismantling its statehood? What were the underlying goals?

Georgian analysts shared their perspectives on this issue with Caliber.Az.

According to Badri Nachkebia, a professor of political science and a prominent journalist from Georgia, the country's leadership has consistently stated that there were attempts to drag Georgia into the war. He also noted that they have begun using the term "deep state" in reference to these efforts.

"This means that certain forces in the West tried to open a second front involving Georgia. Kaladze does not name those who insisted on this, or how exactly. Perhaps that's a mistake. Now that a new administration has come to power in the United States, the Georgian Dream party should speak more concretely about this—specifically, who exactly made these demands and what they mean by the term 'deep state.' Because if these details are not addressed, it could cause significant harm to the ruling party itself," the professor noted.

As for the speculation about who might be behind this, he says that, indeed, various forces in the West do not want stability at certain borders in different parts of the modern world.

"We know that wars continue, and Georgia is located in a key region. In fact, it is a kind of bridge—the South Caucasus. Primarily, it's the Azerbaijan-Georgia corridor, which connects at least Central Asia with Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East. Therefore, the intention of certain forces was probably to disrupt this chain, this link that stretches from the Pacific Ocean to Europe, making this logistical route more unpredictable," Nachkebia suggests.

On the other hand, Archil Sikharulidze, a political scientist and founder of the SIKHA Foundation research centre, pointed out that a certain part of Georgian society does not truly believe that the West demanded Tbilisi open a second front.

"Although I personally believe this stems from their idealization of the West, the fact that Ukraine expected aggressive actions from Georgia seems undeniable to me. And this is crucial to understand. Why? Quite simply, because, with all due respect to the West, countries outside the Western world are often seen as states that can be manipulated. Therefore, the fact that Georgia was sought to be used against Russia is clear to me. The logic here is simple—geopolitical confrontation. The West is willing to sacrifice any country that is not part of the Western bloc," the researcher argues.

The goal here is very simple, he says, to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia.

"If Russia can be strategically defeated through buffer states, it doesn’t matter where—whether in the South Caucasus, Ukraine, Belarus, or anywhere else—it’s no problem. The West is democratic when it comes to its internal processes and relies on its values. But when it comes to foreign policy and countries that are not part of the Western bloc, regular geopolitics takes over, where any country is just a tool in the path to domination and the advancement of interests. That’s all. And Georgia, for them, is also one such tool," Sikharulidze explained.