Moscow notes NATO’s increased arms deliveries to Georgia

Moscow notes NATO’s increased arms deliveries to Georgia

Moscow notes that NATO countries have considerably intensified armament deliveries to Georgia, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin said after a meeting in Prague with Georgian Prime Minister’s Special Representative for Relations with Russia Zurab Abashidze on Thursday, TASS reports.

"We see the intensified activity of the United States and NATO in Georgia. I won’t give any figures but the deliveries of armaments have been stepped up considerably," the Russian diplomat said.

"We see the transformation of Vaziani [the Georgian army’s base near Tbilisi] into a quite modern training center for the Georgian regular armed forces. This causes our concern and the concern of our neighbors in Abkhazia and South Ossetia," Karasin said. Responding to a question about the possibility of Georgia’s accession to NATO in the imminent future, Karasin stressed: "Let’s not run ahead and let us remain optimists."

"On its part, Russia will continue its efforts to ensure that extra-regional military and political blocs do not move closer to our borders and do not aggravate the complexities, which exist with our neighbors even without this," the deputy foreign minister said.

According to the diplomat, Russia and Georgia "need to develop bilateral relations and think over a positive agenda." The diplomat expressed doubts that diplomatic relations between Russia and Georgia could be restored shortly. "We are not tending to simplify matters, we still have no diplomatic relations," he said. "And judging by the developments, it seems difficult to expect that these diplomatic relations that Georgia severed in 2008 will be restored quickly," he added.

Nevertheless, "we continue a dialogue and we aim to make open and objective evaluations of the situation in the region, including through the prism of our bilateral relations," he added.

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