MIA Border Police Hosting NATO Ships in Territorial Waters of Georgia

The Border Police of the Ministry of Internal Affairs is hosting NATO ships in the territorial waters of Georgia. Four ships of Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 (SNMG2) entered the port of Poti: ITS VIRGINIO FASAN (Italy), HMCS FREDERICTON (Canada), ROS REGINA MARIA (Romania) and BGS VERNeti (Bulgaria). TCG SALIHREIS (Turkey), the fifth ship of the unit, will be also involved in the planned joint exercises.

The visit of the unit is an example of successful cooperation between NATO and Georgia on Black Sea security issues and is another confirmation of the Alliance's support for Georgia's Euro-Atlantic integration process.

“During the visit, the Ochamchire [P23] and Dioscuria [P25] Coast Guard vessels of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Standing NATO Maritime Unit will conduct joint exercises. The purpose of the exercises is to raise the level of interaction and interoperability of NATO and Georgian Coast Guard ships.

The visit of the unit to Georgia is carried out in full compliance with the recommendations of the World Health Organization and the National Center for Disease Control. In order to prevent the possible spread of new coronavirus (COVID-19), public and cultural activities have been suspended. Meetings will be held remotely, in the format of a video conference. Joint exercises include only ship maneuvers without crew interaction.

The ships of the NATO Standing Maritime Unit will leave the territorial waters of Georgia on April 10, after conducting joint exercises. This is the first visit of the unit to Georgia this year. In 2019, NATO ships visited Georgian ports twice - in April and October.

Due to the great importance of the exercises here, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia Davit Zalkaliani responded to the entry of five NATO Standing Maritime Warships into the Poti port on his Twitter page, welcoming Standing NATO Maritime Group 2, which brings Italy, Canada, Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey vessels to Poti Port, ready to exercise and work closely for a safer Black Sea.

By Mariam Merabishvili