Ruslan Stefanchuk, the chairman of Ukraine’s Parliament, criticised Moldova and Georgia over their neutral stance on Russia, pointing to their refusal to impose sanctions on Moscow.
In a statement on Facebook, Stefanchuk expressed his disappointment by saying that he believed Moldova and Georgia would extend more support for Ukraine, as the three countries are united by the fact that they have been “territorially bitten” by Russia—referring to Moscow’s military presence in the Transnistria region of Moldova, and the 2008 Russo-Georgian war to recognise the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
Russia is built on impunity. In WW2 it absorbed parts of Finland & Japan by force. It now occupies parts of Georgia, Moldova & Ukraine, as well as Belarus. Ukraine fights to end this aggression: the free world must not relent until Russia ends these post-1991 occupations.
— Chris Alexander 🌻 (@calxandr) April 4, 2022
He noted that the “position by Tbilisi and Chișinău regarding their neutrality in imposing sanctions on Russia has disappointed me.”
Stefanchuk’s comments came in response to an earlier statement by Moldovan President Maia Sandu in which she asserted that Chișinău does not plan to impose sanctions on Moscow. Sandu reasoned that “joining the anti-Russian sanctions could jeopardize Moldova’s gas supplies,” and added that Chișinău’s sanctions on Moscow would be futile as “Moldovan products can no longer enter the Russian market after the war started.” The Moldovan leader pointed out that sanctioning Russia could expose her country to several economic and security vulnerabilities.
Sandu underscored that the decision was taken in coordination with Western partners, possibly the United States (US), who agreed to provide Moldova with $50 million in aid last week.
Meanwhile, on Monday, Sandu refuted Ukraine’s claims that Russia was deploying troops to Moldova’s Russia-backed separatist territory of Transnistria in preparation for an offensive. She confirmed that “the number of Russian peacekeepers in the Transnistrian region has not increased.”
The Georgian authorities do not plan to impose economic sanctions on Russia, as this is "contrary to national interests."
— Hromadske Int. (@Hromadske) April 3, 2022
"Our policy is peace-oriented. We want peace, stability and development. Our country needs it today, nobody needs a war" — Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili
In a similar vein, Georgian Prime Minister (PM) Irakli Garibashvili affirmed that Tiblisi would not impose sanctions on Russia, adding that he will “do everything” to avoid war in Georgia. Garibashvili acknowledged that although 20% of Georgia’s territories are occupied by Russia-backed forces, it is imperative for his government to avoid war, as the country has already been through three wars in the last 30 years.
However, the Georgian PM asserted that Tbilisi will continue to provide humanitarian aid to Kyiv and continue to express support for Ukraine in multilateral forums such as the United Nations (UN) and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
Garibashvili’s comments come after one of Georgia’s Moscow-backed separatist territories, South Ossetia, declared its intention to officially join Russia last week. This puts him in a precarious position, as he has to ensure internal stability as well as make efforts to ward off Moscow’s aggression. Moreover, South Ossetian leader Anatoly Bibilov has also sent troops to help Russian forces in their invasion of Ukraine.