U.S., Britain join Georgia for drills ahead of NATO Response Force

PanARMENIAN.Net - About 1,300 U.S., British and Georgian troops are conducting joint exercises aimed at training the former Soviet republic's military for participation in the NATO Response Force, the Associated Press reports.

Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili said at Wednesday, May 11's opening of the two-week exercises that his country would one day become a member of the Western military alliance.

Georgia has 870 troops taking part in the NATO-led mission in Afghanistan.

Russia's Foreign Ministry last week called NATO's ongoing "exploration" of Georgian territory a "provocative step" aimed at destabilizing the region. The ministry statement noted that unlike last year, when the first such exercises were held, the U.S. forces brought Abrams tanks with them to Georgia.

Georgia responded by saying that Russia's support for Abkhazia and South Ossetia is significantly more provocative.