Georgian Defence Ministry spends almost $66 million on armament this year

Georgia meets NATO standards due to the reforms the Ministry has carried out, Georgian Defence Minister Levan Izoria said at the hearing in the legislative body.

Izoria noted that after the optimization of the Defence Ministry budget the salary expenses have been reduced to 53% of the whole Defence Ministry budget.

"The figure was 66% in 2015. Now the Defence Ministry distributes the budget money as NATO demands. As the salary expenses decreased, we could allocate more funds for armament," Agenda.ge cited Izoria as saying.

The minister stated that according to NATO standards 20% of the Defence Ministry budget should be spent on armament, adding that the amount of $65.7 million is estimated for armament this year.

"We spend even more for weaponry and it is a historic moment. We have already managed to purchase anti-tank missile systems, Javelins, from the United States," the minister added.