Georgia officials say they stand with West against Kremlin aggression, won’t commit to unilateral sanctions

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Under partial Russian occupation, Georgia stands with West against Kremlin aggression

WASHINGTON – The Republic of Georgia's acting ambassador to the U.S., whose home is partially occupied by Russian forces, criticized Vladimir Putin's intimidation tactics in the region and called for more sanctions against the authoritarian regime.

"The lessons that the world has learned based on the Georgian tragic experience [is] that once you have a bully inside the room, there is no other way of dealing with this bully than giving [him] an adequate response," Giorgi Tsikolia said of the Russian president.

"This is what we've been pushing hard as a message here as well, pushing for additional sanctions against Russia," Tsikolia told Fox News.

After publication, Tsikolia and his team clarified that he was calling for sanctions over Russia's occupation of Georgia. They repeatedly avoided saying whether Georgia supported sanctioning Moscow over the Ukraine invasion.

"We are looking at sanctions as an ongoing daily process, closely examining each new measure together with our Western partners," an embassy spokesperson said in a statement to Fox News after publication. "As of today, we have joined all measures in international fora and finance sector, condemning Russian aggression in Ukraine."

Georgia has refused to sanction or call for sanctions against Russia, with Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili saying they "would only damage our country and populace more." Tens of thousands of Georgians have since protested and called for Garibashvili's resignation, according to The Guardian.

Russian forces invaded Ukraine nearly two weeks ago after amassing troops on its border for months.

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In 2008, Russia invaded Georgia, a former Soviet satellite state. Russia seized Abkhazia and South Ossetia during the conflict. 

TBILISI, GEORGIA - MARCH 04: Thousands of demonstrators gather around parliament building during a protest against Russia's attacks on Ukraine, on March 04, 2022 in Tbilisi, Georgia. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed to the rallies in support of Ukraine, held in Tbilisi, Paris, Lyon, Bratislava, Frankfurt, Vilnius and Prague, via video conference, from Kyiv. (Photo by Davit Kachkachishvili/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images) (Photo by Davit Kachkachishvili/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

"We've been living in a reality where 12,000 Russian troops have been stationed … 40 miles away from [our] capital for more than a decade," Tsikolia told Fox News. "We understand firsthand the threats that the Russian military and military aggression presents."

Tsikolia, who spoke with Fox News from the Georgian embassy in downtown Washington, is the highest-ranking Georgian diplomat in the U.S. after former Ambassador David Bakradze’s term ended just days into Russia's war against Ukraine. 

"In our struggle to build a European nation and become part of the West, we've been in this fight against Russian military aggression since [the] beginning of [the] '90s," Tsikolia said.

"Democracy, market economy and the rule of law will at the end prevail," he continued.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke to female flight attendants in comments broadcast on state television on Saturday, March 5, 2022. (Image: Reuters Video) (Reuters Video)

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Tsikolia told Fox News that maintaining stability in Georgia should remain a top priority for the West, especially given the energy resources that flow thorough Georgia to the rest of Europe.

"With what we see right now in the news and with the West trying to divest from the Russian energy supply, Caspian Energy is the only alternative source of supply of energy to Europe, and all those pipelines go through Georgia," Tsikolia said. "Russian troops are stationed three, four miles away from those pipelines, so [we] have to be very vigilant to make sure that Georgia is stable."

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Still, Tsikolia expressed sympathy for the Russian people. 

Giorgi Tsikolia currently serves as Acting Ambassador of Georgia to the United States. (Fox News Digital)

"The people of Russia, to the large extent, have been suffering the policies of the government for years," Tsikolia said. "It is tragic from the historical perspective of looking at what is happening to Russia right now and the ideals that existed in Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union." 

"All those ideals today have been shattered," he continued. "Our hope of people who believe in the free world and believe in democracies is that one day we will see a light coming out of Russia, and hopefully that day will come soon."

EDITOR'S NOTE: This story has been updated to include additional details and a statement Tsikolia and his team provided after publication, though they repeatedly refused to clarify whether Georgia supports unilateral sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.