TBILISI. Jan 21 (Interfax-AVN) - The second conference on planning the Rescuer/Medceur 2003 exercise that is to be held in Georgia in May to June in the framework of NATO's Partnership for Peace program started here on Tuesday, Vice Colonel Irakly Batkuashvili, chief of the Partnership for Peace program coordination headquarters in the Georgian General Staff, has said.
"The first conference took place in Tbilisi in October, and the third final one will be held in Great Britain in March," Batkuashvili told Interfax-Military News Agency.
The exercise is supposed to begin on the territory of the former Russian military base in Vaziani on May 17. Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Estonia, Germany, Moldova and Ukraine have confirmed participation in the maneuvers. An invitation was sent to Russia as well, Batkuashvili noted.
"A two-week medical exercise will happen first. It will be followed on a two-week computerized exercise in cooperation in crisis situations, for example, tectogenic disasters," Batkuashvili stressed.
The main headquarters of the second stage of the exercise will be located in Vaziani, and offices are to be established in pairs. For instance, the Russian-Armenian office will be located in Sevastopol, the Azerbaijani-Turkish one in Baku, and the Romanian-Bulgarian one in Konstanca.
Computer and satellite communications will be established between the countries, and coordination of aid provision to a country in distress will be practiced, Batkuashvili added.
The conference will last until Friday.