NATO countries to begin military exercises in Georgia

TBLISI, Georgia

Military exercises between Georgia and several NATO countries will begin near the Georgian capital of Tblisi next week, according to a Georgian defense ministry announcement on Monday.

The exercise, dubbed "NATO-GEO EX 19", will be held at the NATO-Georgia Joint Training and Evaluation Center and the Krtsanisi National Training Center.

The drill will take place on March 18-29 and will be the first NATO-Georgia joint multinational brigade-level computer-assisted command post exercise.

The first NATO-Georgia exercise was conducted in 2016 with NATO allies and partner nations.

"NATO-GEO EX 19 is an important exercise for Georgia and a significant milestone in strengthening NATO-Georgia military-political cooperation," the ministry said.

A total of 24 NATO member states and partner countries will participate in the exercise, including Albania, Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Denmark, Estonia, France, Greece, the U.K., Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Turkey, the U.S., Azerbaijan, Georgia and Sweden.

Humanitarian bodies like the International Committee of the Red Cross, UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations and UN World Health Organization (WHO, observer) will also be present during the exercise "providing direct feedback and mentorship to exercise participants."

*Writing by Sibel Morrow