International Crisis Group: both US and Europe immediately sought to enlist Georgia in resistance to Russian invasion

Four years on, the war in Ukraine continues to dominate the strategic thinking of Georgia’s government. News of Russia’s initial onslaught jolted the country, which suffered its own Russian invasion in 2008, and caused the government to fear that Georgia might be the next target, according to a newly released report by the International Crisis Group.

In a report, the ICG noted that both the US and Europe immediately sought to enlist Georgia in resistance to the Russian invasion, adding that the US sent private requests for Georgia to aid Ukraine in some way - by supplying weapons from its stockpiles to Kyiv (which Washington would then replace) or by imposing bilateral sanctions on Russia. Brussels also repeatedly urged Georgian Dream to align its foreign policy with that of the EU.

“Georgia, however, perceived these entreaties to help Ukraine as an effort to exploit the country’s pro-Western orientation, at a potentially ruinous cost to Georgians themselves. The US may not have thought its requests were provocative, since they were making similar appeals to partners around the world, but officials on both sides now say Washington failed to take Georgia’s unique sensitivities into account”, the International Crisis Group said.

The review noted that the government turned down the requests, instead seeking to avoid antagonising Russia while opening the door to deeper economic ties with its neighbour, re-establishing direct flights to Russian cities and increasing oil and gas purchases.

The ICG further added that Georgia’s attempts to stay out of the Ukraine war drew acerbic criticism of Tbilisi in a number of European Parliament resolutions as well as in isolated comments by US and EU lawmakers.

“While EU officials have insisted these remarks do not reflect official EU policy, both sides of Georgia’s political divide have seized upon them as representative of the EU stance toward Tbilisi, driving a series of crises. For the opposition and critical NGOs and media, Europeans’ disapproval of the direction Georgia has taken fuels hopes of outside intervention against the ruling party. For Georgian Dream, on the other hand, it has spurred fearmongering about a supposedly organised push to drag Georgia into war”, the International Crisis Group concluded.