TBILISI, September 14 (AVN) - Sapper units of Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan will start an exercise at the Yalgudzha proving range near Tbilisi on September 18, a spokesman for the Georgian Defence Ministry said on Thursday.
The exercise will be held in close-to-combat conditions, the spokesman told the Military News Agency.
The US Department of State provided USD1m for organisation of the exercise, the spokesman went on. UN specialists have set up secondary mine-clearing points and raining rooms at the proving range. Besides, 70 US sappers are expected to arrive in Tbilisi on Thursday to hold defusing classes for Trans-Caucasian soldiers.
Offers of help frequently coming from the Pentagon make Armenia reconsider its priorities in military and political co-operation, a high-ranking official of the Armenian Defence Ministry told the Agency.
According to him, US Secretary of Defence William Cohen ensured Armenian Defence chief Serzh Sarkisyan that the United States will help the Trans-Caucasian nation defuse anti-personnel mines planted in the times of the Karabakh conflict. That is why Yerevan and Washington are likely to boost military contacts in the near future, the official added.