“Brotherhood impossible” while Georgian lands occupied by Russia - ruling party MP in response to incident at The Killers show

Mikheil Sarjveladze, an MP from the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Wednesday said it was “impossible to speak about brotherhood” between Georgians and Russians while the latter occupied Georgian regions, in comments that responded to an incident that led to the American band The Killers being booed off the stage in Georgia’s west after inviting a Russian fan onstage.

The band received a backlash after they brought the fan up to the stage of the Black Sea Arena venue in the seaside town of Shekvetili on Tuesday, with lead singer Brandon Flowers urging the crowd to see the music enthusiast in question as their “brother”.

A part of the audience left the venue in protest, with the band later posting its comment on social media to note it was their “longstanding tradition of inviting people to play drums and it seemed from the stage that the initial response from the crowd indicated that they were okay with tonight’s audience participation member coming onstage with us”.

They added the “brothers and sisters” comment had been meant to indicate friendship between the band’s listeners, and noted its context had been “misconstrued”.

In his comments, Sarjveladze said "[i]f someone wants Georgians and Russians to be brothers, in such a case the top priority is the de-occupation of Georgian territories”, in reference to the occupied Abkhazia and Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) regions.

We will never tolerate the occupation of our lands”, the MP added. 

Black Sea Arena on Tuesday also released a statement distancing itself from the incident, stressing the band’s actions were “not its position” and that organisers “understand the emotions of our visitors”.