NATO Exercises in Georgia, 2009

Civil Georgia news source reports that NATO announced on April 15th that the planned Cooperative Longbow 2009 and Cooperative Lancer 2009 exercises with the Republic of Georgia are to run from May 6th to June 1st, as has been scheduled since last spring. The article makes public several details regarding these interoperability exercises, and lists which NATO member and partner countries will be participating (19 in all).

(Note to NATO: update your website press releases. When they do get caught up to this week, the press release will be at this site. *sheesh*)

Anyway...

Let's just say the Russians are upset... specifically one Russian we know and "love": Dmitry Rogozin.

"This is absurd and a provocation," Russia's envoy to NATO, Dmitry Rogozin, told Reuters by telephone. "I have asked the NATO secretary general ... to postpone these exercises or to cancel them."

You can ask, big guy, but it will likely go over about as well as your conduct during the Russian Invasion of Georgia (2008) did. Remember that? It involved a quick trip home.