Georgian President: West demanded that we get involved in war with Russia against our vital national interests

Georgian President Mikheil Kavelashvili on Tuesday said Western partners pressured Georgia to enter into war with Russia following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine - a step he said would have had catastrophic consequences for the country.

What brought matters to a head between Georgia and the EU was the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The Georgian Government condemned the invasion, sent humanitarian aid to Ukraine and imposed certain sanctions on Russia. However, it tried to block Georgian volunteers going to Ukraine to fight and rejected Western pressure to send military aid and to impose the full range of EU sanctions, leading to fresh accusations of being “pro-Russian”.

In his interview with the American publication Responsible Statecraft, Kavelashvili noted that these decisions led to accusations of Georgia being “pro-Russian”, despite the Government’s policy of prioritising national interests.

“The West demanded that we get involved in war with Russia against our vital national interests… just like in 2008, when the then Government’s unreasonable actions on the basis of trust in NATO led Georgia to disaster”, he said.

The President further added that the current Georgian Government was standing firmly in defence of the nation’s interests, despite external pressure and accusations from Western actors.

“But today, Georgia has a Government that represents the interests of our people…the same media outlets that accuse us of being under Russian influence tell the same lie about President Trump”, Kavelashvili noted.