Georgia\u2019s ruling Georgian Dream party has warned it could publish evidence showing that Western countries pressured Tbilisi to open a \u201csecond front\u201d against Russia if what it describes as blackmail from Brussels and Washington does not stop.<\/p>\n
The party\u2019s secretary-general and Tbilisi mayor, Kakha Kaladze, said the West sought to drag Georgia into war, but the government had so far resisted. Georgian officials have previously spoken of similar pressure but refrained from releasing documents.<\/p>\n
Kaladze\u2019s remarks were seen as a sign that Tbilisi\u2019s patience has worn thin in the face of Western criticism accusing Georgia of pursuing \u201cpro-Russian policies\u201d and backsliding on democracy. The European Union is reportedly considering suspending the visa-free regime, in place since 2017, as pressure ahead of Georgia\u2019s local elections in October.<\/p>\n
Calls from Ukraine<\/strong><\/p>\n According to Tbilisi, the clearest calls for opening a \u201csecond front\u201d came from Ukraine. In early 2022, then\u2013Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili announced Georgia would not join sanctions against Russia, warning the economy could shrink by 10% if it did. The government now expects more than 7% growth this year, crediting that decision.<\/p>\n Former Ukrainian Security Council chief Oleksiy Danilov urged Georgia and Moldova in March 2022 to open conflicts in their separatist regions\u2014South Ossetia, Abkhazia, and Transnistria. Similar appeals were made by presidential advisers Oleksiy Arestovych and Mykhailo Podolyak.<\/p>\n In 2023, President Volodymyr Zelensky argued that Russia had weakened and Georgia had a chance to restore its territorial integrity. Later, after Tbilisi refused Kyiv\u2019s request to return air defense systems previously sold to Georgia, Zelensky recalled his ambassador.<\/p>\n Pressure from the US<\/strong><\/p>\n Kaladze claimed US pressure took place largely behind closed doors. He accused Western envoys of delivering \u201cdirect threats, blackmail, and insults\u201d during meetings with Prime Minister Garibashvili\u2019s office. Both Kaladze and party founder Bidzina Ivanishvili alleged that Western officials told them, \u201cYou will last three to four days, then you will start guerrilla warfare.\u201d<\/p>\n Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili said US Ambassador Kelly Degnan told him and Garibashvili on February 28, 2022, to \u201cchoose the right side\u201d against Russia, marking the first time the \u201csecond front\u201d idea was raised. Papuashvili also cited former US official Evelyn Farkas as encouraging Georgia to enter the war, dismissing the risks with the remark: \u201cSo what?\u201d<\/p>\n For now, Georgia has withheld releasing audio recordings and documents. But observers note that if ties with Washington and Brussels deteriorate further, Tbilisi may make the evidence public.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Georgia\u2019s ruling Georgian Dream party has warned it could publish evidence showing that Western countries pressured Tbilisi to open a \u201csecond front\u201d against Russia if what it describes as blackmail from Brussels and Washington does not stop. The party\u2019s secretary-general and Tbilisi mayor, Kakha Kaladze, said the West sought to drag Georgia into war, but […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11137,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[175],"tags":[3146,12580,805,12586,2232,3143,12582,12579,12585,12589,12588,12587,683,659,12591,12581,12583,12578,10994,822,1192,12584,4015,12590],"class_list":["post-11136","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-diplomacy","tag-abkhazia","tag-bidzina-ivanishvili","tag-european-union","tag-evelyn-farkas","tag-georgia","tag-georgian-dream","tag-irakli-garibashvili","tag-kakha-kaladze","tag-kelly-degnan","tag-mykhailo-podolyak","tag-oleksiy-arestovych","tag-oleksiy-danilov","tag-russia","tag-sanctions","tag-second-front","tag-shalva-papuashvili","tag-south-ossetia","tag-tbilisi","tag-transnistria","tag-ukraine","tag-united-states","tag-visa-free-regime","tag-volodymyr-zelensky","tag-western-pressure"],"yoast_head":"\n