Russia dismisses Georgia's concerns about Black Sea drills

PanARMENIAN.Net - Moscow on Monday, April 1, dismissed Tbilisi’s condemnation of Russian military drills in the Black Sea region, RIA Novosti reported.

The Georgian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Friday that Russia’s actions “are at odds with the interests of stability” in Europe and cannot be viewed as a “proportional reaction to possible threats.”

The Russian Foreign Ministry said on Monday that Georgia’s assertion was 'groundless and out of synch' with its declared commitment to normalize its relationship with Russia.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich described Tbilisi’s reaction as “the public inflation of a Russian threat to cover its own confrontational policy.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the snap drills on Thursday, as concerns persist over the combat readiness of the armed forces in Russia.

The Black Sea exercise, which ended on Sunday, involved up to 7,000 military personnel, including rapid deployment, airborne and special task forces, more than 30 warships, about 250 armored vehicles, up to 20 pieces of artillery and 20 aircraft.

Under international law, exercises of this size do not need to be announced to other countries in advance.