Georgia reportedly only other co-sponsor of US resolution on Ukraine war that refuses to blame Russia

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) has reported that Georgia is the only country to co-sponsor a US resolution at the UN which has significantly toned down criticism of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The WSJ reported that the resolution ‘pits the US and Russia on one side against Ukraine and Europe on the other, in the most dramatic display of trans-Atlantic tensions in years’. Ukraine has reportedly authored a separate resolution holding Russia responsible for its invasion of its territory in February 2022.

The disagreement over the resolution’s text comes amidst growing tensions between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi and the Georgian government’s increasingly anti-Western trajectory.

The Trump administration has stated that its top priority is to end the war in Ukraine as quickly as possible, while Kyiv emphasised the importance of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and Russia’s withdrawal from occupied territory.

Tensions escalated further after Trump accused Ukraine of ‘starting the war’, calling Zelenskyi a ‘dictator’. He also spoke directly with Russian President Vladimir Putin about the war without Kyiv’s participation.

Washington’s current stance marked a sharp departure from the policy of former President Joe Biden, whose administration provided tens of billions of dollars in military aid to Ukraine alongside diplomatic support.

The Ukrainian draft for the UN General Assembly, like similar resolutions passed since 2022, emphasised Russia’s responsibility for the invasion and called for a peaceful solution built around a Russian withdrawal from Ukrainian territory.

The three-paragraph US draft, reviewed by the WSJ, called for ‘a swift end’ to the war and mourned ‘the tragic loss of life throughout the Russian Federation–Ukraine conflict’. According to the publication, it made no reference to who started the war and made no specific demands of the Kremlin.

The WSJ also reported that the US draft resolution ‘has one cosponsor: the government of Georgia, whose ties with Moscow have thawed recently’.

While Georgia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has yet to confirm or deny the WSJ’s report, Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze has confirmed that Georgia supported Washington’s draft.

Kaladze, who is a senior member of the ruling Georgian Dream party, said that it was ‘unfortunate and very painful what happened in Ukraine, but it is clear that this must come to an end’.

‘The President of the United States is doing everything possible to reach an agreement’, Kaladze said.

He added that avoiding the war was, ‘of course, possible’.

When asked what Ukraine could have done to avoid war, Kaladze stated that ‘politicians are in politics to do everything in their power to avert threats and to act in the interests of their country and its people’.

Claims that Ukraine could have avoided Russia’s full-scale invasion of its territory were also recently made by Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, who said on 23 February that the ‘Deep State’ did everything to ‘ensure that this military aggression took place’.

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Georgian Dream has adopted a noticeably anti-Western rhetoric laced with conspiracy theories they have used to discredit the opposition by accusing them, and the ‘Global War Party’, of seeking to open a ‘second front’ against Russia.

The term ‘Deep State’ is a recent addition to Georgian Dream’s dictionary; in December 2024, the ruling party accused the ‘Deep State’ for the unrest and wars taking place around the world in recent years.

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the once friendly ties between Georgia and Ukraine have frayed, with Georgian Dream leaders, including Prime Minister Kobakhidze, routinely criticising the country. Georgian security services have also accused Georgian volunteer fighters in Ukraine of trying to orchestrate a coup back in Georgia along with the support of Ukrainian officials.

On 19 February, Georgian Foreign Minister Maka Bochorishvili said that she was ‘glad’ Georgia had not followed Ukraine’s example and is ‘not on the same train’ as Kyiv.

Last week, the founder of the pro-government PosTV, Shalva Ramishvili, went even further, saying that Ukraine’s defeat in the war ‘is our victory’.

‘Why should Ukraine’s defeat be considered our defeat? Ukraine’s defeat is our victory’, said Ramishvili.

Ramishvili also criticised Zelenskyi and his team, calling them a ‘mass gathering of crybabies’.

In its report, the WSJ quoted diplomats as saying that on 21 February, the US asked Ukrainian officials to withdraw their own resolution on the war, which Kyiv refused.

British and French officials have also reportedly requested that Washington revise its own draft, which it also refused to do.

According to a note sent by US diplomats to European capitals, Washington’s draft is focused on ‘one simple idea: ending the war’.

‘We plan to vote against Ukraine’s draft resolution, and we are pursuing a short simple text that we believe ALL member states, including Ukraine and Russia, can agree to. We ask that you join us in urging Ukraine to withdraw its resolution’, the US diplomatic note reportedly read.

The US draft could go for a Security Council vote on Monday to coincide with the war’s third anniversary. Both the US and the Ukrainian resolutions could be presented for votes in the General Assembly, diplomats told the Wall Street Journal.

Since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Moscow has repeatedly vetoed Security Council resolutions that backed Ukraine.

Prominent Georgian Dream propagandist says ‘Ukraine’s defeat is our victory’

The comments came as US President Donald Trump’s administration is seeking rapprochement with the Kremlin.

OC MediaNate Ostiller