In a written statement on February 19, PM Irakli Garibashvili condemned violence in Kiev and said that “responsibility first and foremost lies” with the Ukrainian government to prevent bloodshed.

Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili made a televised statement and said that situation in Kiev is “alarming.”

“I want to call on my Ukrainian counterpart, Victor Yanukovych, to spare no effort to stop violence against demonstrators and to start dialogue with the opposition,” President Margvelashvili said.

In his written statement PM Garibashvili also said: “I express my deep concern over dramatic events in Ukraine. I categorically condemn violence taking place in the streets of Kiev. Tragedy in our friendly country Ukraine, which caused large number of casualties, is a tragedy for us too, especially as there is one Georgian citizen among those who have died."

“Solving the crisis through use of force is inadmissible. It contravenes in principle European values. In such situation responsibility first and foremost lies with government, because it is [government’s] obligation not to allow escalation, not to bring situation to bloodshed and civil confrontation.”

“I join calls from the democratic world to stop the violence and the parties to find ways out of the current crisis through peaceful means. I do not lose hope that the Ukraine government and the people will show wisdom in this difficult moment and will not let even more tragic development of the events,” reads PM's statement.

Like on number of previous occasions in recent months, when there were escalations in Ukraine, on February 19 too the Ukrainian flags were on display in the Georgian Parliament chamber in Kutaisi. Meanwhile in Tbilisi a group of people rallied after midnight outside the former parliament building on Rustaveli Avenue in solidarity to demonstrators in Kiev.