Georgian Defense Minister Juansher Burchuladze has responded to the statement made by the Russian Foreign Ministry on Exercise Noble Partner 2022.

In an interview with Georgian TV company Imedi, he emphasized that "Georgia's policy is peace and the integration of occupied territories is discussed only through peaceful way."

"It does not mean the militaristic path," Burchuladze added.

He noted that this was a planned exercise, which was held in Georgia for the sixth time.

"The statement, according to which, we are choosing the path of militarization, It is not true. No equipment was left in Georgia after the exercises. We continue existing relationships with our partners. There was nothing special about it. This statement may have a preventive nature. But once again, I can assure everyone: everyone should remain calm. There is no threat from our side to the indigenous territories of Georgia and especially, to the region," Burchuladze said.

On September 14 the Russian Foreign Ministry said that Moscow is following the progress of Noble Partner 2022 closely.

"Moscow draws attention to the fact that Noble Partner 2022 involved sending heavy equipment from Europe to Georgia, overland from Turkey," director of the fourth department of the CIS countries, Denis Gonchar stated.

As he explains, Moscow sees a continuing policy of “drawing” Georgia into NATO, “including providing the country with modern weapons and conducting military exercises with the participation of the United States,” which, according to him, "is not only a challenge to Russia’s interests, but also a risk to security and stability in the South Caucasus."

“Supporters of “substantial support” to Georgia should be aware of the measure of their responsibility and understand that we will take into account the fundamental moments in the development of cooperation between Tbilisi and NATO in the most serious way,” Gonchar said.

This year, for the sixth time, Georgia has hosted Noble Partner 2022. The exercises were led by the Eastern Command of the Georgian Defense Forces and the United States Command in Europe and Africa (USAREUR).

More than 2,400 soldiers were involved in the multinational exercises. The participants of the multinational exercises this year were Georgia, USA, Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, Greece, Great Britain, Turkey, Slovakia, Norway, Hungary, Lithuania, Azerbaijan, Germany, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Estonia, Poland, Japan, Lithuania, Poland, the Ukrainian multinational brigade and the International Center of the Swedish Armed Forces. The exercise scenario involves command post and field exercises with live fire, manoeuvres, and combat support in defensive and offensive operations.