The first significant obstacle in the way of Russia’s designs on Georgia was intervention by the US, which demanded that the Georgian government drop negotiations with Gazprom and banned Georgia from selling the gas pipeline that connects Russia and Armenia through Georgian territory. Russia punished Georgia almost immediately, banning the import of Georgian wines and mineral waters – both of which are key export goods.
俄罗斯对于格鲁吉亚的企图所遭遇的最大障碍在于美国的介入，后者要求格鲁吉亚停止与俄罗斯天然气工业公司的谈判，并且禁止格鲁吉亚通过穿越格鲁吉亚国境的连接俄罗斯与亚美尼亚的天然气管道出售天然气。俄罗斯几乎立即就对格鲁吉亚实行了惩罚，它禁止从格鲁吉亚进口葡萄酒和矿泉水这两个格鲁吉亚主要的出口产品。