US-Georgia Military Exercises 'Not Directed' At Russia; US Sec. Of State John Kerry To Visit Vladimir Putin

The U.S. military forces will be in Georgia for a two-week training exercise to boost cooperation and ties between the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and the Georgian forces. The joint exercise known as Noble Partner has been criticised by Russia for being near its borders.

About 300 U.S. troops with 14 Bradley tanks were transported across the Black Sea from Romania. Russia has previously slammed the exercises but U.S. and Georgia officials said the exercises should be seen as a threat to anyone.

“This training is not directed at anyone or any direct threat,” said Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili as a pre-emptive statement to Russia’s claims of provocation. In the opening ceremony on May 11, Major Vincent Mucker of the U.S. Army said the joint exercises were planned long before Russia’s annexation of Crimea last March.

Mucker said it was “business as usual” between Georgia and the U.S. The joint military exercises were the first time that a force with battle armour was moved into the Caucasus region across the Black Sea. A Georgia politician who attended the ceremony on May 11 believes Russia should not be concerned about the exercises.

“If Russia were a normal country, it wouldn’t be concerned by 300 guys and a bunch of Bradleys,” said Davit Bakradze, a former chairman of Georgia’s Parliament but now in the opposition. He claimed Russia thinks of Georgia as their “sphere of influence” but the exercise will only show it isn’t, reports New York Times.

The two-week training exercise is part of a series of military drills in Eastern Europe, the Baltic and Scandinavia. Last week, NATO had conducted its anti-submarine exercises off the Norwegian coast. In Ukraine, U.S. soldiers are training government forces to help fight Russian-backed separatists.

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to host U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry when he arrives in Russia on May 12. It is Kerry’s first visit to Russia since the start of the Ukraine conflict, reports The Guardian. He will also meet his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov.

In a written statement, the U.S. State Department said the trip to Russia is part of an ongoing effort to keep communication lines open with top Russian officials. Marie Harf, a spokesperson, said discussion will focus more on Ukraine, where fighting continues even with a standing ceasefire agreement, as well as Iran and Syria.

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