The Killers Apologize for Bringing a Russian Fan Onstage in Georgia

The Killers' attempt to look on the bright side of things didn't quite work out.

The Las Vegas rock band — which has a longstanding tradition of inviting fans onstage to perform their song "For Reasons Unknown" — has issued an apology after they invited a Russian fan on stage to play the song with them during their concert on Tuesday in the country of Georgia.

"We don’t know the etiquette of this land but this guy’s a Russian. You OK with a Russian coming up here?” lead singer Brandon Flowers asked the audience, before the crowd booed him.

Even though it gained its independence from Soviet rule back in 1991, Russia occupies a portion of Georgian territory and the two nations have a long history of political tensions.

Concertgoers reportedly began to walk out of the show thereafter, while Flowers, 42, attempted to create his own peace treaty, per the BBC.

“You can’t recognize if someone’s your brother? He’s not your brother? We all separate on the borders of our countries? … Am I not your brother, being from America?” he asked the crowd in a fan-posted video. 

In another video, Flowers tried to rectify the situation further while being booed, telling the crowd that "one of the things that we have come to appreciate about being in this band is it brings people together."

He added, "Tonight I want us to celebrate that we're here together, and I don't want it to turn ugly. And I see you as my brothers and my sisters." 

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On Tuesday, The Killers issued an apology on Facebook.

"Good people of Georgia, it was never our intention to offend anyone! We have a 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," wrote The Killers in the post.

They continued, "We recognize that a comment, meant to suggest that all of The Killers’ audience and fans are 'brothers and sisters,' could be misconstrued. We did not mean to upset anyone and we apologize. We stand with you and hope to return soon."