TBILISI. Aug 13 (Interfax) - Georgian Defense Minister Levan Izoria countered Tskhinval's accusations over the current NATO Noble Partner multilateral exercise in Georgia by accusing South Ossetia of hosting "unacceptable" military drills with Russian troops.
"The Noble Partner exercise is held absolutely in accordance with international rules, unlike the exercises we are seeing the occupied territory," Izoria told reporters on Saturday, commenting on the South Ossetian Foreign Ministry's statement that the NATO exercise is demonstrating Tbilisi's desire to undermine the regional situation and resolve the conflict militarily.
The drills in South Ossetia are "absolutely unacceptable" from the standpoint of international norms and standards, Izoria said.
As for the current exercise in Georgia, it aims to "strengthen our friendship with partners and neighbors and ensure peace and security for population and the region," Izoria said.
Noble Partner, which involves over 3,000 troops from 13 countries including NATO members, began on August 1 and will end on August 15.
On Saturday Georgian and U.S. engineering and mechanized brigades held combined drills at the Vaziani Military Base outside Tbilisi.
The troops practiced mountain warfare and launching a counterattack after passing through mock enemy obstacles, the Georgian Defense Ministry said.
This is the fourth time that Georgia takes part in the Noble Partner exercise.
This year it also involves troops from Britain, Germany, Estonia, France, Lithuania, Poland, Norway, Turkey, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Armenia.
The aim of the exercise is to raise readiness and compatibility among national armed forces and improve their skills in providing stability, conducting defensive and offensive operations, and contribute to better security in the Black Sea region, the Georgian Defense Ministry said.
The U.S. redeployed from Europe its military hardware including Stryker armored carriers, Bradley infantry fighting vehicles and five Abrams main battle tanks (M1A2). The exercise also involves U.S. combat helicopters AH-64 Apache and UH-60 Black Hawk. A total of 1,170 U.S. troops participate, including from the 2nd Cavalry Regiment of the U.S. Army Europe.
The exercise also involves around 1,300 troops from Georgia and 500 from the other countries, the Georgian ministry said.
On August 1 Georgian Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze said the exercise was not aimed against any country and that its aim was to strengthen peace and stability in the region.