Georgia’s recent foreign policy and domestic political balancing strategy has evolved into a more rational, nationally focused, and realist perspective, particularly under the leadership of the Georgian Dream Party (GDP). During the tenure of Irakli Garibashvili, Georgia adopted a cautious policy of balance, opting to avoid direct confrontation with Russia despite increasing pressure from the West, thereby prioritizing the country’s geopolitical stability.
Under the premiership of Irakli Kobakhidze, the GDP government further clarified its foreign policy orientation by emphasizing national sovereignty in the face of Western expectations for a radically pro-Western regime and an anti-Russian front policy in Georgia. Despite intense political pressure from the West during this period, the Tbilisi administration pursued an independent foreign policy centered on national interests, firmly rejecting Georgia’s involvement as a second front and preserving the state’s long-term geopolitical interests on a pragmatic basis.[1]
One of the most concrete reflections of this nationally oriented approach is clearly visible in deportation policies. Despite the claims made by Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Andriy Sibiga, the GDP government implements a security-prioritizing policy in border management that targets not only Ukraine but also the illegal migration activities of many other countries.[2] Although the presence of a significant number of Ukrainian citizens lacking proper documentation in transit zones as of June 2025 has resonated in international public opinion, Georgia continues to implement its migration regime on legal and security grounds without being dragged into conflict with Russia. At the same time, the deportation of citizens from Bangladesh, Iran, Iraq, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Türkiye and other Central Asian countries demonstrates that Georgia is implementing a neutral and comprehensive control mechanism and shaping its border security independently of Western political pressures.[3]
In the context of the visa liberalization issue, Georgia’s stance again reflects an independent and national interest-oriented perspective. The conditions imposed by the European Commission under the pretext of fundamental rights are interpreted as part of the West’s objective to establish a radical pro-Western regime in Georgia. The Georgian administration is particularly targeted by the West over legal regulations such as the “foreign agents law” and those restricting LGBT propaganda; however, the GDP government considers these regulations as necessary tools for the country’s social stability and national security. Despite the threat of extending the restrictions applied since January 2025 to diplomatic and public passports to the general population, Georgia maintains its independent stance prioritizing its national identity and security without yielding to the European Union’s (EU) demands.[4]
During this process, the harsh rhetoric from countries such as France, Estonia, and Poland reveals a pressure policy aimed at rendering Georgia dependent on the West. French Ambassador Sheraz Gasri attempts to frame the visa-free regime issue as a matter of technical obligation violation,[5] while Estonia openly enforces personal sanctions on Georgia’s judicial and administrative officials with the intent of political punishment.[6] Likewise, Polish Foreign Minister Sikorski directly intervenes in domestic politics by targeting the GDP government and clearly expresses his intention to engineer a Western-led political transformation in Georgia.[7] The GDP’s maintenance of its national interest-based position despite these pressures stands as an indicator of a rational statecraft opposing the unipolar geopolitical design imposed by the West.
The language used toward Georgia in the European Parliament (EP) and Western media is clearly ideological and detached from the realities on the ground. CNN’s accusation that Georgia is shifting toward the axis of China, Iran, and Russia in fact reflects an attempt to force the country into integration with the hegemonic designs of the West.[8] Similarly, the EP’s reports on Georgia reflect a radically pro-Western agenda, targeting the country’s right to make its own sovereign decisions and adopting a West-centric and inconsistent attitude, such as declaring elections invalid without Western approval.[9]
In the economic sphere, Georgia’s approach is shaped entirely within the framework of a pragmatic policy based on national interests. Despite political pressure from the West, Georgia continues to maintain sustainable and interest-based economic relations with Russia, establishing a functional and profitable connection particularly in the fields of tourism and trade. The fact that Russian citizens once again constituted the largest share of tourists visiting Georgia in the first half of 2025, and that cities like Batumi derive much of their economic dynamism from relations with Russia, clearly illustrates the Georgian government’s approach that prioritizes real interests in its foreign policy.[10] This pragmatic policy of balance provides economic stability for Georgia and enables the country to safeguard its security amid regional chaos.
Georgia’s recently adopted foreign policy perspective is being shaped along a more cautious and geopolitically realistic trajectory despite the increasingly harsh rhetoric and sanctions pressure from the West. Especially after the 2008 war, during which a significant part of its territory was left under de facto occupation, the Tbilisi administration has been drawn toward a more careful strategy aimed at preventing future military or diplomatic disasters. This foreign policy line, pursued under the leadership of the Georgian Dream Party (GDP), has developed a reflex to preserve the status quo by avoiding direct escalation with Russia and has kept open the possibility of dialogue to prevent the formal annexation of Abkhazia and South Ossetia by Russia-backed separatist administrations.
The Georgian government interprets Russia’s avoidance of holding referenda in the separatist regions –unlike in Ukraine– as a potential window for future dialogue, and therefore calculates that the radically anti-Russian stance demanded by the West could lead to the complete loss of these territories. Aware that the domestic social structure is deeply rooted in strong national and religious conservatism, the current government sees that Western value-based demands lack genuine societal support and, in each administration, prefers a direction based more on national interests without straining internal balances.
One of the most critical issues in the upcoming period—the visa-free travel regime with the European Union—can also be assessed in light of these geopolitical and societal realities. Although high-level statements from Brussels signal the possibility of suspending visa liberalization, it is evident that the Georgian government will not abandon its prioritization of national interests. While visa liberalization is indeed an important achievement for Tbilisi, this gain is evidently regarded as secondary in the face of pressures that would erode the country’s sovereignty and domestic political sensitivities. In particular, the West’s imposition of LGBT norms, its attempts to intervene in domestic politics through the “foreign agents law,” and its radical pro-Western discourse that clashes with the cultural codes of Georgian society have driven the government toward a more distanced approach to the West, guided by a reflex to preserve societal stability. As a result, a period of strained relations with Brussels is expected to persist in the short term, and pressures regarding the visa-free regime will likely intensify. However, Georgia will continue to uphold its independent stance centered on national sovereignty and geopolitical interests, maintaining its national reflex in the face of potential harsh Western sanctions.
In conclusion, Georgia –especially under the leadership of the GDP– has institutionalized a rational approach in its recent foreign and domestic policy that prioritizes geopolitical realism and national priorities. Despite increasing pressure and radical pro-Western demands from the West, the country prefers to operate along a more balanced and realist line, shaped by the imperatives of social and geopolitical realities. By avoiding direct tensions with Russia, Georgia refrains from creating a context for the formal annexation of Abkhazia and South Ossetia akin to the cases of Donetsk and Luhansk in Ukraine, and instead pursues a neutral foreign policy that keeps the possibility of diplomatic resolution open while serving its long-term national interests. Taking into account the conservative and national-religious codes of Georgian society, the current administration preserves domestic political stability without yielding to Western social engineering agendas, and demonstrates resistance when necessary to Western political pressures, such as those concerning the visa-free travel regime. In this context, Georgia will continue in the coming period to pursue an independent and pragmatic foreign policy grounded in national sovereignty, carefully weighing the costs of a confrontational course with the West, and further consolidating its identity as an actor that avoids open conflict with Russia and upholds geopolitical rationality in protecting the regional status quo.
[1] “Kobakhidze Zayavil o Shantazhe YES iz-za Otkaza Gruzii Otkryt Vtoroy Front Protiv RF”, TASS, https://tass.ru/mezhdunarodnaya-panorama/24547445, (Access Date: 19.07.2025).
[2] Andrii Sybiha, “Russia is weaponizing the deportation of Ukrainian citizens through Georgia”, X, https://x.com/andrii_sybiha/status/1946526214425813071, (Access Date: 19.07.2025).
[3] “Gruziya Deportirovala 26 Inostrantsev, v Tom Chisle Grazhdan RF”, Zemin, https://www.yerzemin.com/display/gruziya-deportirovala-26-inostrancev-v-tom-chisle-grazhdan-rf/339013, (Access Date: 19.07.2025).
[4] “Gruziya Mozhet Lishitsya Bezviza s YES, Yesli ne Vypolnit Yego Rekomendatsii”, TASS, https://tass.ru/mezhdunarodnaya-panorama/24551831, (Access Date: 19.07.2025).
[5] Sheraz Gasri, “Visa free travel is based on mutual commitments”, X, https://x.com/Sherzag/status/1946199633421607063, (Access Date: 19.07.2025).
[6] “Foreign Minister Tsahkna: We Sanctioned 19 More Georgian Officials”, Respublic of Estonia – Ministry of Foreign Affairs, https://www.vm.ee/en/news/foreign-minister-tsahkna-we-sanctioned-19-more-georgian-officials, (Access Date: 19.07.2025).
[7] “Radoslav Sikorski – Shezghudvebi Unda Dautsesdet Mat, Vints Pasukhismgebelni Arian Represiebze da Ara Kartvel Khalkhs”, Interpressnews, https://www.interpressnews.ge/ka/article/843905-radoslav-sikorski-shezgudvebi-unda-daucesdet-mat-vinc-pasuxismgebelni-arian-represiebze-da-ara-kartvel-xalxs, (Access Date: 19.07.2025).
[8] Jill Dougherty, “As Democracy in Georgia Collapses, Russia, China and Iran See an Opening”, CNN World, https://edition.cnn.com/2025/07/16/europe/georgia-protests-russia-china-iran-influence-intl-cmd, (Access Date: 19.07.2025).
[9] Sergio Cantone, “Georgia Faces European Parliament’s Criticism Over Rule of Law and Russian Influence”, Euronews, https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2025/07/10/georgia-faces-european-parliaments-criticism-over-rule-of-law-and-russian-influence, (Access Date: 19.07.2025).
[10] Atorus, “Turisty iz Rossii okazalis’ na pervom meste po chislu vizitov v Gruziyu”, Telegram, https://t.me/atorus/32065, (Access Date: 19.07.2025).
