Russia Blames Georgia for ‘Foiled’ BLACKSEAFOR Naval Meeting

In a statement issued on February 25, the Russian Foreign Ministry accused Georgia of failing to issue visas in a timely fashion for Russian officials who were planning to participate in a meeting of the Black Sea Naval Cooperation Task Group, or BLACKSEAFOR, scheduled for February 22-25 in Tbilisi.

“The Russian side considers these kinds of actions by the Georgian authorities non-friendly [steps], which demonstrate Georgia’s inability to fulfill its duties in the capacity of commander of the BLACKSEAFOR. No official document could have been adopted at the meeting in Tbilisi, because of the absence of Russian representatives,” the Russian Foreign Ministry’s statement reads.

However, the Georgian side denies these accusations as groundless and claims that the Russian side “ignored” the meeting in Tbilisi.

The Georgian Defense Ministry reported that although the Russian side did not participated, the session of the BLACKSEAFOR was held in Tbilisi as scheduled and a program of joint naval exercises was scheduled for April 4-27, 2005.

The Black Sea Naval Cooperation Task Group – BLACKSEAFOR unites six Black Sea states: Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine. The organization was set up to coordinate rescue operations for humanitarian needs, cleaning sea mines and joint action for protecting the Black Sea environment.

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