The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) will conduct two series of exercises in Georgia between May 6 and June 1, the alliance's central military command has announced. Upon learning the information, the Russian side reportedly responded harshly and sharply to the incoming NATO-led military exercise in George.
Estonia announced the decision to give up its participation in the exercise as it was "a bit too late for action", Russia media reported, and Kazakhstan and Latvia said that they, too, will not take part in the NATO-led military exercises in Georgia.
Russia calls NATO exercise act of provocation
Approximately 2,000 military personnel from more than 10 NATO member and partner countries will partake in the exercises in Georgia and, according to a NATO source, its military exercise in Georgia is a postponed exercise due to the outbreak of the Russia-Georgia war last year.
The exercise is designed to improve interoperability between the organization and its partner countries, NATO explained, and it will not deploy anti-missile and anti-chemical equipment and other sophisticated weaponry during the course of exercises. So, NATO even invited Russia to join. However, the latter not only flatly refused to pitch in but demanded NATO to cancel it.
With regard to the NATO's decision to carry out the military exercise in Georgia, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev cited it as an "erroneous and dangerous" decision. Russia is urging NATO to put off or cancel the military exercise with Georgia, its representative at NATO Dmitry Rogozin told Interfax last Thursday.
There are three main reasons involved for Russia to persuade NATO to abandon the exercise, Russian representative at NATO Dmitry Rogozin acknowledged. First, he said, the military cooperation between Russia and NATO was still frozen as a result of last summer's South Ossetia conflict.
Second, Russia has long warned NATO and partner countries against sending heavy weaponry to Georgia, saying that Russia has decided to impose sanctions against those countries which provide George with heavy weapons.
Thirdly, with massive protests having held everywhere in Georgia, opposition leaders vow to continue their protests until President George Mikheil Saakashvili steps down.
NATO spokesman Carmen Romero said the alliance had received official notification that Russia will delay meeting with NATO chiefs of staff on the exercises in Georgia, Russia's Tass news agency reported. Meanwhile, Russia Foreign Ministry spokesman, Andrei Nesterenko, said that Russia will probably hold its own highly visible exercises in Northern Caucasus and Abkhazia and South Ossetia as a "protest" and "warning" to Georgia, since special forces have amassed in areas adjacent to Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
NATO bent on plan for military exercise in Georgia
NATO still keeps up its plan for military exercises in George, despite the great dissatisfaction and opposition of the Russian side. Russia is resentful to the very truth that the incoming exercise is not to be held in a NATO member nation but on the territory of the former Soviet space that could become a NATO member nation.
Russia could suspend its participation in the NATO's Partnership and Peace Program, according to Dmitry Suslov, deputy director on Research of the Council on foreign and Defense policy. Some experts and scholars also deem that the contest of power between Russia and NATO as an extension of the Russia-Georgia clashes taking place in August 2008.
Russia brings up new Euro-security pact again
Russia President Dmitry Midvale, in his speech of April 20 at elite Helsinki University during his current visit to Finland, once again proposed a big Euro-Atlantic Summit and reiterated his proposal for a new European security pact.
Over Russia's brief war with Georgia last August, the work of the Russia-NATO Council was suspended by the alliance unilaterally in September last year. Nevertheless, NATO passed in March this year a principled decision to resume the work of the council, as the organization needs to go on cooperating with Russia on such issues as the war on terror, preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and the war in Afghanistan.
The first NATO-Russia meeting at the ministerial level within this framework will be held in late May and early June this year. With the start of the warming up of relations between Russia and NATO, their dispute over the military exercise in George once again adds a question mark that haunts the growth of Russia-NATO relations.
Established in 1949 as a defense pact against the former Soviet Union and now 28-members strong, NATO celebrated its 60th founding anniversary on April 4, 2009.
By People's Daily Online and contributed by PD resident reporter in Moscow Zhang Guangzheng
(Xinhua News Agency April 23, 2009)
