Georgia to skip Defender military drills in 2023

Georgia has decided to skip the Defender multinational military exercise this year, the Georgian Defence Ministry said in a statement on May 2.

"Based on the goals and objectives of the [Georgian] Defence Forces,... it has been decided to dedicate more efforts and resources to such international and national exercises that better serve these goals, including improving combat training, interoperability of units with units of NATO countries, exchange of experience and improvement of professional skills," TASS reports, citing the statement.

The Defence Ministry said Georgia every year holds the multinational exercises Noble Partner and Agile Spirit, which involve US forces. Preparations are now underway for the latter.

Georgian troops have already taken part in four multinational exercises this year, which took place in Germany, the Netherlands, Slovakia and Türkiye. Later this year, Georgia plans to send its servicemen to exercises in Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Germany, Italy, Poland, Romania, Türkiye and Estonia, the ministry said.