TSKHINVAL. Jan 29 (Interfax) - The military aid provided by the United States to Georgia is confrontational in its aim and reinforces Tbilisi's militaristic ambitions, Murat Dzhioyev, the South Ossetian president's envoy for post-conflict settlement, said on Tuesday.
The U.S. defense budget act, published in the press, prioritizes the military aid for Georgia, which it calls a "valuable partner," and refuses to recognize the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, he said. The U.S. has allocated a record $132 million for defense this year.
"This document really says that (...) Georgia's allegedly military cooperation with NATO facilitates the formation of a calmer situation in the region. In fact, the opposite is true. The U.S. aid for Georgia has been confrontational from the start, for its supports and boosts Georgia's militaristic ambitions," Dzhioyev said.
It is no secret that during the August 2008 war against South Ossetia, Georgia used U.S. weapons and military advisors as well as U.S. political support, he said.
"And since 2008, despite the European Union independent commission having recognized that it was Georgia who started the war against South Ossetia, the West's military support and NATO presence in Georgia have been increasing.
"Georgia has hosted regular NATO military exercises since 2011. A NATO training center, set up and operating in Georgia, comprises several tactical districts. The participants' numbers and the nature of such NATO is expanding, as are the area and the aggressive purpose of the exercises, which risk exacerbating the situation," Dzhioyev said, citing as an example NATO using its equipment during last summer's maneuvers near the village of Tsitsagiantkari less than a kilometer from the border with South Ossetia.
"It is completely obvious that the continuing Western support for Georgia's ambitions is not conducive to the advancement of Geneva-based international negotiation on South Caucasus security, where Georgia has refused to work on a legally binding document on the non-use of force between it, South Ossetia and Abkhazia."