NATO-Georgia Exercise 2019 kicks off with 24 states, 350 soldiers involved
The NATO-Georgia Exercise 2019 will continue until March 29. Photo: Defence Ministry press office.
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The NATO-Georgia Exercise 2019 has started today at the NATO-Georgia Joint Training and Evaluation Center (JTEC), National Training Center Krtsanisi, near Tbilisi, Georgia.
The exercise is comprised of 21 allied nations and three NATO partner nations, including Georgia as the host nation.
Georgian Deputy Defence Minister Lela Chikovani says that this year’s exercise is the largest in scale, with 24 nations and more than 350 soldiers involved.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is expected to visit Georgia during the exercise. Photo: Defence Ministry press office.
The exercise will strengthen Georgia’s self-defense capabilities. It is no way targeted against any nation,” Chikovani said, responding to continued accusations from Russia, which perceives of the NATO-Georgia partnership as a direct threat.
The participating, allied nations are: Albania, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Germany, Denmark, Estonia, France, Greece, United Kingdom, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Turkey, United States, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Sweden.
The #NATOGEOEX19 is further developing the interoperability of Georgian, Allied and Partner Forces, Georgian C2 capabilities, as well as the ability to adopt a comprehensive approach to a non-Article 5 crisis response, involving civil-military cooperation with IOS and NGOs. pic.twitter.com/p8AhqsEyEJ
— NATO ACT (@NATO_ACT) March 17, 2019
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) and the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO, observer) will also be present during the exercise, providing direct feedback and mentorship to exercise participants.
It is an important exercise for Georgia and a significant milestone in strengthening NATO-Georgia military and political cooperation” the Georgian Ministry of Defence says.
It is the second NATO-Georgia exercise to take place within the Substantial NATO-Georgia Package (SNGP); a set of 14 defence capacity building initiatives agreed between Georgia and NATO at the Wales summit in 2014 and Warsaw Summit 2016.
The first NATO-Georgia exercise was conducted in 2016 involving NATO allied and partner nations, with 14 nations in total.
The brigade-level exercise is organised and supported by the NATO-Georgia JTEC of the Georgian Defence Forces, NATO Allied Command Transformation (ACT), NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCIA), NATO LANDCOM, Joint Force Training Centre (JFTC) and Partnership for Peace (PfP) countries.
For the first time Georgia will take full responsibility for the planning and the execution of the NATO-Georgia joint military exercise which will be held in March near Tbilisi with the participation of 22 NATO member states and allies, Georgian Defence Minister Levan Izoria told journalists today.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the alliance may have changed many times, but it has maintained its key value - the commitment of its member nations to protect and defend one another.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg hopes Georgia can soon be welcomed into NATO, and praises the progress achieved by the country. He also urges Russia to withdraw its forces from Georgian territories.
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Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach, the Chairman of the NATO Military Committee, will be in Georgia this week, as high-ranking leaders of the alliance continue their official visits to the country.
Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili has hosted NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in the presidential residency in Tbilisi earlier today.
The de facto leadership of Abkhazia is unhappy with statements made by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Tbilisi yesterday to the effect that Russia must withdraw its troops from Georgian territory.
Georgian Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze has stated that ‘irresponsible political parties’ are making statements to the effect that Georgia is no longer on the agenda of European countries.
Georgian service members are among over 9,000 troops from over a dozen states involved in the Spring Storm defence drills organised by the Ministry of Defence of Estonia that launched on Monday.
The NATO-Georgia Joint Training and Evaluation Centre (JTEC) has marked three years anniversary since its foundation.
Georgian Defense Minister Levan Izoria has said that NATO-Georgia cooperation is becoming tighter and more extensive. His comment comes after he visited the NATO Allied Joint Force Command center in Naples, Italy last week.
Subjects of ongoing NATO-Georgia partnership and future plans of the cooperation were on the agenda as the Minister of Defence of Georgia Levan Izoria sat down with the alliance's Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Brussels earlier today.
Georgian Defence Minister Levan Izoria has praised Georgia-US cooperation at the 16th Batumi International Conference adding more rotational military exercises with involvement of NATO countries are planned in Georgia. Izoria said that Georgia is preparing for another three-year cycle of cooperation to ‘increase Georgia’s self-defence capacity.’
Former Secretary General of NATO Anders Fogh Rasmussen says that it is time Georgia start discussions on whether or not to join the alliance with its 5th article on collective defence covering only the Tbilisi-administered territory.
Georgia will be involved in the US-led exercise Defender Europe 2020 in April and May of the next year, the largest exercise of its kind in Europe in 25 years with the participation of about 20,000 soldiers and 18 participating states, the New York Times reports. The Defender Europe 20 exercise will support NATO objectives "to build readiness within the alliance and deter potential adversaries."
The NATO-Georgia Joint Training and Evaluation Center has received 15 brand new vehicles through the NATO Defence Capacity Building Trust Fund, with contributions from NATO Allies Norway, United Kingdom, Germany, Turkey, Denmark, Italy, Portugal and Lithuania.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has stated during the ongoing NATO leaders meeting in London that there is “more NATO in Georgia now than ever.”
Georgian Defence Minister Irakli Garibashvili will attend NATO defence ministerial in Brussels on February 12-13 and will meet with NATO top figures to further strengthen cooperation between Georgia and the alliance, Georgian Defence Ministry press office reported earlier today.
Georgia will host the 2022 NATO-Georgia Exercise for the third time in March, with the defence manoeuvres set to be led by the Georgian Defence Forces and involve alliance and partner countries, the defence ministry announced on Tuesday.