TBILISI. March 31 (Interfax-AVN) - Georgia will not host the first command post anti-terrorist exercise named Caucasian Eagle before 2005, Vice Colonel Irakly Batkuashvili, chief of the Partnership for Peace coordination headquarters in the Georgian General Staff, said on Wednesday.
"Georgia will propose NATO to hold the first Caucasian Eagle command post anti-terrorist exercise involving military units in 2005," Batkuashvili told Interfax-Military News Agency.
"The General Staff considered holding such an exercise in 2004 in the context of Georgia's integration with the Euro- Atlantic Alliance, but taking into consideration funding issues, the decision was made to postpone them until 2005," he said.
"The timeframe for the exercise will be set in the second half of this year, while putting together the 2005 military budget and taking into account U.S. aid," Batkuashvili noted.
According to him, the exercise will become traditional for Transcaucasua. At the initial stage, it will involve two Georgian battalions. The plan is to make the exercise annual and to have Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan taking turns in hosting it.
Georgia announced its intention to join NATO at the alliance's summit in Prague in 2002.