Georgia remains in ‘one-sided friendship’ with Ukraine, ruling party MP

The Chair of the Georgian Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee, Archil Gorduladze, has said Georgia continues to maintain what he described as a “one-sided friendship” with Ukraine, while awaiting “tangible steps” from the Ukrainian authorities.

Gorduladze said the Georgian government had consistently supported Ukrainian citizens and refugees since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, including by ensuring access to education and social protections.

“Our team and the entire vertical of the government, whether executive or legislative, are doing everything to ensure that the rights of Ukrainian refugees are protected in exactly the same way as the rights of internally displaced persons from Georgia’s temporarily occupied territories,” he said.

Gorduladze noted hundreds of schoolchildren in Georgia have been able to receive education in the Ukrainian language, while the Georgian authorities have repeatedly expressed support for the Ukrainian state and people through international resolutions and diplomatic initiatives.

However, the ruling party MP criticised statements made by senior Ukrainian officials in the early days of the war, claiming some had encouraged Georgia to take steps that could have drawn the country into direct confrontation with Russia.

He referred to remarks about “driving tanks” through Georgia’s occupied territories, calls for charter flights carrying volunteers, and demands for Georgia to impose economic sanctions on Russia.

“That directly implied involvement in the war,” Gorduladze said, adding that sanctions against Russia would have “collapsed” Georgia’s economy.

He also criticised the continued absence of Ukraine’s ambassador to Georgia, despite what he said was the prior approval of diplomatic credentials by Tbilisi.

Gorduladze further argued that bilateral relations were being harmed by Ukraine’s failure to extradite former Georgian officials wanted by Tbilisi, including Gia Lortkipanidze and Zurab Adeishvili.

The lawmaker also revisited disputes surrounding the imprisonment of former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, accusing Ukrainian officials of making politically motivated statements regarding his treatment.

“From our side, we remained in a mode of one-sided friendship with the Ukrainian people,” Gorduladze said. “There must also be concrete and tangible steps from the other side.”