He said hitting Moscow with more sanctions would deprive Georgians of income from Russian tourism and trade as well as remittances from relatives working in Russia.

The Georgian prime minister was one of the few world leaders, and the only one among Russia’s immediate neighbours, who went public with such statements. “We sympathise with everyone, but we must protect our country and people first”. Let us say directly that sanctions are not effective means”, the premier told a televised government meeting on 28 February.

“The capital of Ukraine is being bombed, and we see that there is nobody to stop this. Despite incurring citizens’ anger, Gharibashvili has remained cautious. The day after Russia invaded, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Gharibashvili said his government would refuse to join any Western sanctions on Moscow, dismissing them as unproductive. Since then, Tbilisi has pushed even more strongly for closer integration with the West, via closer ties to the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), even if membership in neither body seemed immediately likely.ĭespite these parallels and the broad public backing for Ukraine, the Georgian government has tiptoed around the crisis, fearing the consequences of goading its powerful northern neighbour, Russia. Following that five-day conflict, Russia recognised two Georgian breakaway regions – Abkhazia and South Ossetia – and stationed its troops there. Every evening, the city centre becomes a sea of yellow and blue as thousands gather to show solidarity with Ukraine.įor many Georgians, the war recalls the Russian invasion of their own country in 2008. Ukrainian flags hang on balconies and windows in distant suburbs, as well as by the doors of cafés and shops on downtown avenues. Since the Russian attack on Ukraine began on 24 February, popular support for the besieged country has been everywhere to be seen in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi.

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