MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Russia, Abkhazia and South Ossetia are concerned about the increasing military cooperation between Georgia and NATO and believe that Georgian-NATO military exercises undermine multilateral efforts to stabilize the situation in the South Caucasus, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
"Given the continuous claims by Tbilisi to the territory of the two independent republics, strengthening the offensive capabilities of the Georgian army and the growing number of joint Georgian-NATO military exercises raise reasonable concerns of Sukhumi and Tskhinvali, undermining the multilateral efforts to stabilize the situation in the South Caucasus," the statement reads.
In 2008, Georgia launched a military offensive against the breakaway republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, ending in a five-day war with Russia. Both regions declared their independence from Georgia in the early 1990s and were recognized by Russia following the 2008 conflict.
During a NATO summit in Wales on September 4-5, 2014, a package of measures was approved to advance Georgia's efforts in its preparations for NATO membership.
