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Stratfor–The United States has offered “unshakable support” for Georgia after Russia announced plans to strengthen ties with Georgia’s breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, Deutsche Presse-Agentur reported April 16. U.S. State Department Spokesman Sean McCormack said Washington is still examining what Russia is proposing but expressed support for Georgia’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. Russia’s Foreign Ministry announced April 16 that it will establish legal ties with Abkhazia and South Ossetia to give them legal assistance.
in related news, NATO is “deeply concerned” by a Russia’s announcement that it will formalize its ties with Georgia’s pro-Russian separatist regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said April 16.
Meanwhile, a joint Georgian-U.S. military exercise called Immediate Response 2008 will be held near Tbilisi in July, RIA Novosti reported April 15, citing the Georgian Defense Ministry. Around 2,000 people from the United States as well as Armenia, Azerbaijan and Ukraine, will join Georgian troops in the exercises, which were planned by the U.S. Armed Forces European Command. The exercises will take place at Georgian military sites, including the Vaziani military base and the Poti naval base.
