Russia/Georgia/Defense – Kremlin raises red flag about ‘any covert steps against Russia’ during drills in Georgia (TASS)

TASS writes: NATO is not hiding who is the alliance’s key adversary and it’s important that the scenario of the Agile Spirit 2021 drills that kicked off in Georgia involving 12 member-states and three partner nations does not imply any hidden agenda against Russia, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Thursday. “Obviously, as far as we are concerned, it is essential that the scenarios of such drills do not imply any covert steps against our country. Still, the scenarios of the drills are drawn up in NATO and the alliance is not hiding who the key foe is for them,” Peskov said, commenting on Azerbaijan’s participation in these exercises. Azerbaijan is a sovereign country and Russia appreciates its partner ties with Baku, Peskov stressed. “Azerbaijan is a sovereign state. We value our ties with Azerbaijan. These are partnership relations and there is a shared political will to further cultivate these relations,” the Kremlin spokesman pointed out. NATO’s Agile Spirit 2021 drills kicked off on July 26. The alliance’s drills involve over 2,500 troops from Azerbaijan, Great Britain, Germany, Georgia, Spain, Italy, Canada, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, the United States, Turkey, Ukraine and Estonia. More than 1,500 troops are from Georgia and another 700 personnel are from the US.