MOSCOW. July 5 (Interfax) - Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili's recent remark suggesting that his country needs a strong army, which cannot become such without an "active war," signals persistence of militaristic attitudes in Tbilisi, which poses a threat to peace and security in the South Caucasus, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
"The said remarks unambiguously confirm that militant revanchist attitudes persist in Tbilisi, which poses a real threat to peace and stability in the South Caucasus," Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said in a statement posted on the ministry website on Thursday.
"There must be a reason for Georgia to persistently evade the conclusion of binding agreements on the non-use of force with Abkhazia and South Ossetia," he said.
"The media quoted Saakashvili as saying that Georgia needs a strong army, which cannot be such without an 'active war', and 'therefore Georgian soldiers are fighting in Afghanistan, so making their army stronger, and Georgia will continue to train their troops there, as they need combat training'," Lukashevich said.
"It turns out that Georgia is present in Afghanistan and is increasing the number of its soldiers there not to fight terrorism and maintain security, which the International Security Assistance Force's mandate implies. Moreover, Saakashvili's words suggest that the longer the 'active war' lasts in Afghanistan, the better for Georgia, which will have a suitable range for its army to undergo combat training this way," Lukashevich said.
"We are of the view that this open, if not cynical, revelation by Mr. Saakashvili of his true motives should be taken into account by those who hail 'Tbilisi's contribution to security in Afghanistan' and, under this plausible pretext, provides quite tangible assistance in stepping up Georgia's military potential," he said.