‘Unprecedented’ military exercise continues in Georgia
By Mariam Chanishvili
Wednesday, August 2
As Georgia is trying to push its bid to join NATO, NATO’s multinational military exercise - Noble Partner – 2017 has been launched, as Georgia is trying to push its bid to join NATO.
The military exercise will last to August 12.
The US-Georgia military drills, dubbed Noble Partner, involve some 1,600 US and 800 Georgian troops.
The US has also deployed M1A2 Abrams main battle tanks and M2 Bradley infantry vehicles for the exercises.
The armed forces from eight countries are taking part - Georgia, Turkey, Armenia, the United States, Great Britain, Germany, Slovenia and Ukraine. These countries are united under the banner of the exercise’s motto “Strength through Partnership”.
The Minister of Defense in Georgia, Levan Izoria said that the "unprecedented" exercises would "make clear the support for Georgia by the NATO member states, especially the US".
This military exercise will ensure stability, improve defensive or offensive skills, deepen cooperation between the armed forces of Georgia and other NATO countries, improve the training capabilities of NATO forces, and develop cooperation between NATO countries.
US Vice-President Mike Pence visiting Georgia this week said that it is heartening to see that Georgia already exceeds NATO’s goal of spending two percent of gross domestic product on defense.
He also highlighted that the United States of America strongly condemns Russia’s occupation of Georgia’s soil.
“The United States will continue to work with Georgia to reduce vulnerabilities and counter Russian aggression,” tweeted the Vice-President.
“The vice president's presence here is definitely showing that this is not only about military exercises, but it is also showing unification with our values, with our foreign policy targets, and showing a clear message that we are together," stressed President Giorgi Margvelashvili.