Moscow pleased that Moldova decided not to take part in NATO drills

The Russian authorities expressed satisfaction with the fact that Moldova, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Serbia decided to withdraw from the NATO-led military exercises in Georgia, Info-Prim Neo reports. “We see that some of the countries paid increased attention to our concerns about these drills and decided not to participate in this dubious event,” said the director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Information Department Igor Liakin-Frolov, quoted by Interfax. The Georgia-based NATO exercises started on May 6 at the Vaziani military base. Earlier, the Georgian authorities announced that they had foiled an attempt to assassinate President Mikhail Saakashvili and suppressed a rebellion, accusing Russia of trying to frustrate the exercises. Moscow, which has a negative attitude towards the NATO drills, denied the accusations. Nine NATO member states and a number of partner countries are taking part in the Cooperative Longbow 09/Cooperative Lancer 09 command-and-staff exercise that will be held from May 6 through June 1.