bne.eu: “Georgia’s new defence minister says western shift irreversible”

Last week hundreds of American and Georgian soldiers stood shoulder-to-shoulder at a Georgian military base near Georgia’s capital Tbilisi and took part in a joint training exercise.

Monica Ellena wrote a piece for news website bne Intellinews where she spoke to Georgia’s recently appointed Defence Minister Tinatin Khidasheli, who said the joint military exercises was more than just about strengthening the interoperability of the armed forces of the former Soviet republic with NATO forces. The Minister also admitted to have slight concern about Russia’s increasing soft power in the region, which portrays the West as sinful and alien to Georgia’s traditional values.

But Khidasheli believes Georgia’s integration with NATO and the European Union is a one-way ticket and "nothing is going to change that”.

The Georgian Government stressed the joint military exercises "are not directed against any particular threat”, but the drill inevitably raises the question about the reaction in Russia, whose relations with Tbilisi have been strained since the 2008 war over South Ossetia.

It’s not for me to guess or speculate what is the reaction in Moscow,” says Khidasheli. "We are not preparing for war, with anybody, [and] any of these activities, whether military trainings or political cooperation with either NATO or the European Union, are not against anybody. They are to strengthen this country.”

Read the full story here: www.bne.eu