What’s beyond American army exercises in Georgia?

At the military base in Vaziani located near Tbilisi large-scale two-week exercises of Georgia and the NATO countries - Agile Spirit have started. They are joined by units of the Armed Forces of Latvia, Lithuania, Bulgaria and Romania, but the largest number of unites belongs to the United States. They sent more than 300 soldiers.

Just over a month ago, the same number of US military units joined three-week maneuvers at the Krtsanisi training ground, during which they trained Georgian troops with melee skills during special operations. For the first time they brought heavy military equipment – Bradley armored vehicles.

Two major exercises during a few weeks with the involvement of the US troops clearly shows an increase of a certain tendency. The US military forces have never been so active on Georgian territory.

Many people believe that the intensification of military cooperation is the result of the appointment as Minister of Defence of Georgia of one of the most radical pro-American politicians in the country, Republican Tina Khidasheli.

But the main reason is that the general situation in the post-Soviet territories – the Ukrainian events and the beginning of "an open competition for the post-Soviet legacy" have prompted Washington to take more radical steps in order to send a message to our partners and allies in the region. Certainly, including Georgia.