In the current tug of war between Russia and Ukraine, Georgia seems to be the one walking the tight rope. Its strategic geopolitical position between Asia and Europe and the borders it shares with both the battling countries makes Georgia and its people an inevitable casualty of the Russia-Ukraine war—now in its fourth year.
At the beginning of the war, Georgia extended its diplomatic support to Ukraine. In early 2022, even before the Russian invasion began, the Georgian parliament adopted a resolution in favour of Ukraine while the Russians escalated the military preparations at the border. When Russia라이브 바카라 aggression began, the then Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili dedicated 1 million GEL to provide medical assistance to Ukraine from the government라이브 바카라 reserve fund. By April 2022, Georgia ranked at the top among 191 countries in terms of sending humanitarian aid to Ukraine.
However, Georgia refused to extend any military support to the Ukrainian side. It also shied away from joining other world powers in imposing economic sanctions against Russia. Several pleas were made to the Georgian government to open a “second front” against Russia after their invasion of Ukraine and reclaim Abkhazia and South Ossetia—the separatist regions of Georgia which, backed by Russia, declared de facto independence from the state of Georgia in the early 1990s. But the then PM Garibashvili made it amply clear that he will not “make any decision which in any form will damage national interests of Georgia and the Georgian people.”
According to media reports, Georgia라이브 바카라 reluctance to throw its weight into the conflict stems from its past history of repeated military conflicts with Abkhazia and South Ossetia, both in the early 1990s as well as in 2008. While some believe that participating in the Russia-Ukraine conflict would affect their integration into the Western alliance, others also feel that Georgia would perhaps not elicit as expansive international support as Ukraine did due to its complicated geopolitical history. Moreover, Georgia has been maintaining the policy of resolving its problems with its two separatist regions through political means rather than military strong-arming—a policy it is unlikely to change in a bid to avoid alienating the population in these regions.
Another significant aspect of Georgia라이브 바카라 positioning in this conflict is that beyond the direct military threat from Russia, the political alignment of the Georgian Dream-Democratic Georgia party—which has been in the government since 2012—has been tilted towards Russian incentives. Post Russia라이브 바카라 invasion of Ukraine, this tilt has only furthered and the Georgian government has moulded itself as an increasingly authoritarian regime with its policies reflecting similarities with Russia.
A case in point is the new media law being implemented by the Georgian Dream government, which targets foreign funding for media organisations and NGOs. Under this law, organisations that run on more 20 percent of international funding will be marked as "organisations acting in the interest of a foreign power" and will be subjected to punitive measures such as rigorous audits and fines. In fact, this inclination towards the Kremlin has impacted Georgia라이브 바카라 EU status, as the authoritarian moves of the GD government are being criticised by EU leaders.
With the increasing proximity between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in the recent days, Georgia has further distanced itself from its integration into the EU. At the UN, Georgia became the only supporter of the UN General Assembly Resolution moved by the US in February 2025. Many have criticised the US draft of not being pointed in placing blame on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. Reportedly in this diluted version—which differs in tone from its previous drafts—US does demand “a swift end” to the conflict. However, there are no unambiguous demands from Russia towards the achievement of peace.
Earlier, the US was working with European counterparts on a Ukrainian draft resolution, which laid out the demands towards accountability for war crimes while elaborating on the crippling effect of the Russian invasion on the Ukrainian economy. However, later the US asked Ukraine to drop this draft according to reports. While Ukraine refused to do so, the Europeans backed its resolution. Since 2022, Georgia has consistently backed Ukraine라이브 바카라 resolutions on the Russian invasion in the UN. However, its current standpoint perhaps emerges from both its alignment with the Kremlin라이브 바카라 policies as well as its bid to please the US, who had imposed sanctions on Georgia following its crackdown on the pro-democracy protests in 2024.
In October 2024, widespread protests gripped Georgia as the people claimed that the preliminary results of the parliamentary elections were fraudulent and demanded fresh elections. According to the results, the Georgian Dream party was leading in most parliamentary seats. These protests were met by a brutal crackdown from the police and violent groups associated with the ruling party, which resulted in several protestors and journalists being severely injured. In October 2024 and February 2025, the European Parliament passed resolutions rejecting the results of the parliamentary and presidential elections in Georgia and de-recognising the current government.
Not only did the EU Parliament call for fresh elections to be held under international supervision, it also issued sanctions against the Georgian Prime Minister, high-level government officials, as well as the oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili. Alongside, it invited the international community “to join the boycott of Georgia라이브 바카라 ruling elite.”
As Russia continues to dilly-dally on its conditions towards maintaining enduring peace with Ukraine in the US-initiated mediation, Georgia라이브 바카라 international position will remain precarious so long as it leaves its own internal political crisis unaddressed amidst this war, which is witnessing constant shifts in solidarities and alliances.
Apeksha Priyadarshini is senior copy editor, 바카라. She writes on cinema, art, politics, gender & social justice
This article is a part of 바카라's April 1, 2025 issue 'World At Reset', which explores the ongoing changes in the global geopolitical order. It appeared in print as 'An Inevitable Casualty'.
