Russia cautions regional allies against US ties, cites ‘Western-backed coup’ in Georgia

Russia has cautioned its allies in the former Soviet Union against aligning with the United States, citing a “Western-backed coup attempt” in Georgia similar to Ukraine’s ‘Maidan’ revolution in 2014, reported news agency Reuters.

Russia, currently engaged in the deadliest conflict in Europe since World War 2, has faced challenges to its authority from neighbouring countries and traditional allies since President Vladimir Putin deployed troops to Ukraine in February of last year.

The warning came against the backdrop of thousands of Georgians protesting against a ‘foreign agents’ law that they believe was inspired by Russia and could harm the country’s efforts to form closer ties with Europe, with demonstrations taking place for three consecutive nights.

“It is very similar to the Kyiv Maidan,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told state television, referring to the 2014 Maidan revolution which toppled a pro-Russian president in Ukraine.

“It seems to me that all the countries located around the Russian Federation should draw their own conclusions about how dangerous it is to take a path towards engagement with the United States’ zone of responsibility, its zone of interests.”

The comments made by the highest-ranking diplomat in Putin’s government reveal the level of concern in Moscow regarding the erosion of its authority, from Armenia and Azerbaijan in the South Caucasus to Kazakhstan and Tajikistan in Central Asia. Putin frames the conflict in Ukraine as a critical battle with the West over the future of Russia and its former Soviet and imperial satellites, which have been sought after by the United States, NATO, the EU, and China since 1991.

Meanwhile, Washington, Brussels, and Nato claim that they are legitimately establishing relationships with nations that gained independence after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and that many of these countries are anxious about their much more dominant neighbor, Russia.

POST-SOVIET BATTLE
Throughout history, Russia has been the ultimate decision-maker when it comes to affairs in the extensive territories that constituted the Russian empire and subsequently the Soviet Union for almost three centuries.

However, the conflict in Ukraine, which Putin portrays as a defining moment when Moscow finally stood up against Western efforts to restrain it, has constrained Russia’s military. Critics of Putin argue that the war could potentially trigger a new era of Soviet disintegration, leading to turmoil in Russia and enabling competitors to shift Moscow’s former satellites toward the West or China.

Washington and the broader West, wanted to punish Russia because it was perceived as “too independent a player” which challenged the hegemony of the United States, Lavrov was quoted as saying by Reuters.

Lavrov, who has served as Putin’s foreign minister since 2004, suggested that external forces had orchestrated the events in Georgia, with the aim of undermining Russia’s traditional allies. He alleged that the country’s foreign agent law, which was withdrawn by parliament on Friday, had been used as a pretext to initiate an effort to remove the current leadership from power.

However, he did not provide any supporting evidence for his claims. In response, opposition politicians and protestors in Georgia have denied that they are being manipulated, stating that they simply oppose the proposed law and seek a future that aligns with Western ideals, which Russia, having fought a war with Georgia in 2008, does not offer.