MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The recent joint Georgia-NATO military drills, held in summer and autumn, are leading to the escalation of tensions in the region and devaluing the work of the Geneva discussions format, the ministry said.
"The delegations of Russia, Abkhazia and South Ossetia emphasized that further deepening of Tbilisi's cooperation with NATO is perceived as a real threat to regional security," the ministry said in a statement, adding that the recent joint Georgia-NATO military drills in Georgia had clearly anti-Russian and provocative nature.
"[The drills] involved a record number of servicemen and military hardware… The emissaries of some NATO states, who attended the drills, stressed the anti-Russian nature of the maneuvers and their importance for Georgia from the point of view of the future 'de-occupation' of South Ossetia," the statement said.
Representatives of Abkhazia, Georgia, South Ossetia, Russia and the United States, with the co-chairmanship of the UN, OSCE and EU held regular consultations on security and stability in Transcaucasia in Geneva, Switzerland, on October 10-11.