US plans to intensify military trainings in Georgia

“The US does not have a plan for the permanent deployment of troops in Georgia; however, it plans to increase the intensity of military training and exercises in Georgia,” US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defence Michael Carpenter said at the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Wednesday.

"We're going now to pay more attention to the training of the Georgian Armed Forces and to strengthen their defence capabilities” said Michael Carpenter.

In his speech, he noted that Russia continues to occupy 20% of Georgian territory, exerts pressure on Georgia and continues to change the administrative border.

According to Michael Carpenter, the de facto leader of the Tskhinvali region, Leonid Tibilov, announced the holding of a referendum on joining Russia, which is another example of Russia's pressure on Georgia.

Michael Carpenter also stressed the importance of Georgia's contribution to international missions and noted that Georgia is the second biggest contributor to the mission in Afghanistan.

The statement is likely to be very negatively assessed by Russia, which remains hostile to NATO activity in the region.

As it appears, the training of Georgian troops and helping the country boost its self-defence capabilities is the only support Georgia can receive from its foreign allies now.

Both NATO and the United States allegedly refrain from directly irritating Russia, as direct irritation might also cause negative consequences for Georgia.

It is very likely that the upcoming NATO Warsaw Summit will also be focused on boosting Georgia’s self-defence capabilities rather than the granting of a Membership Action Plan (MAP) or taking any other similar step.