Moscow says US-Georgian exercises are a 'provacative move'
Moscow sees the Noble Partner 2016 joint military exercises involving US and Georgian troops as "a provocative move aimed at the deliberate destabilization of the military-political situation in the South Caucasus." This was stated in commentary by the Department of Information and Press of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Grani reported.
The Foreign Ministry believes that Washington and its allies "indulge revanchist aspirations of Tbilisi".
The commentary referred to remarks made by the Chairman of the Georgian Parliament David Usupashvili.
"It has been said that while part of the country stays occupied, the mission of the Georgian Armed Forces remains unfulfilled. And as a key to its fulfillment the speaker named not only the 'heroism of Georgian soldiers and officers', but also the help of partners - NATO member countries. We would like to understand what these statements mean. By the way, they were made on May 4 - the same day that US tanks were unloaded at the Poti port," the document states.
The Noble Partner 2016 exercises will be held from May 11 to 16. According to the US Army in Europe's website, "exercise Noble Partner is a bilateral effort focused on enhancing U.S. and Georgian NATO Response Force interoperability in the context of military-to-military relationships. The exercise focuses on Unified Land Operations and is based on NATO standard operating procedures”
Earlier, the commander of US ground forces in Europe, General Ben Hodges, said that the main purpose of Noble Partner 2016 is to "see how quickly the US military can come to Georgia's aid if needed."
On May 23, 2015, US Secretary of State John Kerry, in his speech dedicated to Georgian Independence Day, said that the United States will assist Tbilisi in its movement towards NATO membership. "We intend to assist Georgia in implementation of the Association Agreement with the European Union and in its progress on the path to NATO membership," Kerry stated.
"We highly value our strong partnership with Georgia. The United States is firmly committed to Georgia's territorial integrity and sovereignty within its internationally recognized borders. We firmly support Georgia's Euro-Atlantic aspirations," Kerry said. The US Secretary of State also wished for "peace, unity and prosperity" for the country.