The Russian Foreign Ministry has warned that Georgia’s declared need for a strong army and an active war could have dire consequences for the whole Transcaucasia region.
“It turns out that Georgia maintains and builds up its military presence in Afghanistan not for the fight against terrorism and establishing security, as provided by the Coalition Forces’ mandate. Following Saakashvili’s words, the longer Afghanistan is engaged in an active was, the better it is for Georgia as it will have a suitable testing ground for its army incombat,” the ministry’s official spokesman, Aleksander Lukashevich, told the press.Lukashevich’s statement comes a short time after Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili told the graduates of a Georgian military school that their country needed a strong army that cannot be formed without an “active war” and thus, Georgia will continue to send servicemen to Afghanistan when they need combat training.The Russian diplomat stressed that he deliberately was not elaborating on the moral side of Saakashvili’s statements so that the peoples of Georgia and Afghanistan could have their say on this issue. But he stressed that they were confirming that Tbilisi insists on its belligerent and revengeful moods that pose a real threat to the peace and stability in the whole Transcaucasia region. “It is not accidental that the Georgian side is persistently dodging the signing of binding agreements on non-use of force with Abkhazia and South Ossetia,” Lukashevich noted. The official also called upon those who praise Tbilisi’s input into the security process in Afghanistan to heed special attention to Saakashvili’s words as they were disclosing the real motives of the Georgian authorities.