Georgia, U.S. discuss cooperation in defence

Georgia, Tbilisi, September 11 /Trend N.Kirtzkhalia/ Issues of bilateral cooperation in the defence sphere between Georgian and the U.S. were discussed during a meeting held at Georgia's Foreign Ministry on Tuesday. The American delegation was led by Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labour Thomas Melia, the agency told Trend. The delegation which is in Georgia to assess the pre-election situation, also includes representatives of the U.S. State Department, Defence and Justice Departments From the Georgian side, Defence Minister Irakli Alasania, Chief of the Joint Staff of the Armed Forces, Colonel Irakli Dzneladze and Deputies Defence Minister Tamar Karosanidze and Mikheil Darchiashvili participated at the meeting. Special attention was paid to the process of Georgia's accession to NATO and steps recently taken in the defence sphere in order to increase transparency and strengthen parliamentary control. The issues of controlling personnel and military education were also discussed during the meeting. The parties stressed the necessity of conducting a fair and democratic presidential election. Members of the American delegation displayed interest in voting procedures in Georgia's Armed Forces. The head of the agency Irakli Alasania stated that the presidential election will be held as objectively as possible and all military personnel will have a freedom of choice. It was also noted during the meeting that there is significant improvement in the pre-election environment this year compared to the last year's election. Do you have any feedback? Contact our journalist at agency@trend.az