Georgia To Expand Military To Counter Russian Threat in Regions
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Tbilisi, Georgia — Georgia plans to expand its military more than 15% to 37,000 soldiers to counter the threat of Russian aggression in two breakaway regions, a Georgian deputy defense minister said.
Batu Kutelia said the troop increase follows a threat analysis last year. “We’re talking about specific, not theoretical, threats,” he said yesterday by telephone in the capital Tbilisi. “I’m referring to recent events” in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, “especially the air-defense situation.”
Georgia recalled its ambassador from Moscow on July 10 after Russia admitted that its air force violated Georgian airspace in South Ossetia. Russia’s Foreign Ministry said the “brief flight” came in response to information of a possible Georgian “invasion” of the region.
Mr. Kutelia said the additional manpower will be deployed to defend Georgia’s airspace and the Black Sea coast.
The increasing tension and violence in Georgia, which President Saakashvili’s government has consistently blamed on Russia, has made the Black Sea country a flashpoint in Russia’s relations with the West.