Joint military maneuvers by NATO and Georgia began Monday, September 7 in this former Soviet South Caucasus republic which plans to join the Atlantic Alliance, to the chagrin of Russia.
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Some 2,800 military personnel from the United States, France, Great Britain and Poland will participate in the exercises dubbed Noble Partner 2020, which will take place at training centers at Vaziani and Camp Norio near Tbilisi, the Georgian capital.
These maneuvers are “
the most important component of efforts to make Georgia's Euro-Atlantic integration feasible,
” Georgian Prime Minister Guiorgui Gakharia said, addressing the military at the opening ceremony.
The exercises, which will last until September 18, are "
a guarantee of peace in our country
" and "
are not directed against anyone
", he stressed.
Georgia hopes to join NATO, despite opposition from Moscow, which considers this possible membership as an attack on its traditional sphere of influence.
In August 2008, Russia and Georgia clashed in a five-day lightning war, in which Moscow recognized the independence of two Georgian separatist regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia and there has maintained a strong military presence.
In 2008, the leaders of the Atlantic Alliance promised Georgia, during a summit in Bucharest, that it "
would be a member of NATO
" one day.
But so far they have not started the membership process.
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