TBILISI, August 9. /TASS/. The Agile Spirit 2019 multinational NATO military exercise staged in Georgia from July 27 to August 9 was intended to maintain stability and security in the Black Sea region, Georgian Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze told the official closing ceremony of the drills at the Orholo training area (Samtskhe-Javakheti region).
"The Georgian people made its civilizational choice, which implies full integration of Georgia into European and North Atlantic organizations. This is a sovereign and civilizational choice of our country and people and it is not aimed against anybody. These exercises promoted further and greater compatibility between Georgia, the United States and partners, as well as facilitated maintenance of a stable and secure environment in the Black Sea region," he said.
The Georgian prime minister assured that such drills advance Georgia’s integration into NATO and promote the principle of "more NATO in Georgia and more Georgia in NATO."
The Agile Spirit 2019 exercises featured more than 3,000 servicemen from Georgia, the US, Belgium, Bulgaria, the United Kingdom, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, Norway, Poland, Romania, Turkey and Ukraine. The exercises were split into two parts, the command and staff drills and the field ones. The command and staff part was completed on August 5.
The Agile Spirit drills have been held annually since 2011 and make one of the elements of Georgia’s cooperation with the US and NATO. These exercises train Georgian military for international peacekeeping missions. In September 2018, 237 servicemen from 10 countries took part in the drills.