NATO HOLDS GEORGIA WAR GAMES, RUSSIA CRITICAL
MISHA DZHINDZHIKHASHVILI

6 May 09
TBILISI

NATO launched military exercises in former Soviet Georgia on Wednesday
after heavy criticism from neighboring Russia and a brief mutiny in
the Georgian military.

Russia — which regards NATO as a Cold War relic with intrusive
ambitions to expand into former Soviet countries — angrily dismissed
as a "provocation" Georgian accusations that Tuesday’s mutiny was a
coup attempt engineered in Moscow.

Adding to tensions, Russia on Wednesday expelled two Canadian diplomats
who worked at NATO offices in Moscow. The Foreign Ministry said the
NATO employees’ expulsion was meant as retaliation for the alliance’s
decision to kick out two Russian envoys from of its headquarters in
Brussels, apparently over a February spy scandal.

"We, naturally, were forced to react," Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov
said in televised comments Wednesday, adding the reciprocal measure
was simply playing by the "rules of the game."

Georgia has stepped back from its initial allegations that Tuesday’s
mutiny was orchestrated by Moscow to topple Georgian President Mikhail
Saakashvili, and now say it was aimed at disrupting the NATO exercises.

Hundreds of Georgian soldiers surrendered late Tuesday after a daylong
standoff at the Mukhrovani tank battalion headquarters near the
capital, Tbilisi, during which they had barred the defense minister
from entering and declared they would refused to follow orders.

Some Georgian opposition members called the mutiny a charade,
cooked up by Saakashvili to rally disgruntled Georgians around the
beleaguered president.

Opposition supporters have protested for weeks in the capital,
accusing the president of corruption, mismanagement and provoking
Georgia’s August war with Russia.

Russian-Georgian relations have been tense since the pro-Western
Saakashvili came to power amid a popular revolution in 2003, and
worsened after the war and Russia’s recognition of two breakaway
Georgian regions.

Russia is also annoyed at Georgia courting closer ties with NATO, the
United States and the European Union, and is especially riled by the
NATO military exercises under way at a military base near Tbilisi —
not far from the base at which Tuesday’s revolt occurred.

Russian officials view the war games as a typical manifestation of
Western meddling, and have accused the alliance of intervening in
Georgia’s domestic politics by holding the exercises.

Georgian Defense Ministry spokesman David Dzhokhadze told The
Associated Press that no battlefield maneuvers were planned until at
least May 11, and meetings would dominate proceedings until then.

Georgia expects 15 countries to take part in the NATO exercises,
Dzhokhadze said, Switzerland, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Serbia said they
would not take part. Armenia has also said it would bow out, but Dzho
khadze said Georgia has yet to be notified.