Responding to Washington’s response to its so-called security guarantees, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that the U.S. has not given a constructive response to their demands, meaning refusal from further expansion of NATO.

Moscow demands no more eastward expansion and an end to NATO military activity in Eastern Europe.

NATO confirmed on Friday that NATO-Georgia exercises will take place in March 2021, as it was planned before.

"We do not envisage to conduct another NATO-Georgia exercise this year, beyond the one which is scheduled for this coming March," NATO said in a written reply sent to the Accent.

NATO also emphasizes the goals and results of the joint exercises with Georgia:

"Practical cooperation between NATO and Georgia includes – amongst other tracks - working together with the NATO Command Structure in order to strengthen Georgia’s defence capabilities and interoperability with the Alliance. Thanks to this cooperation - which has over the years been further bolstered through the Substantial NATO-Georgia Package - Georgian Defence Forces are more capable and NATO interoperable than ever before. In this respect, NATO Joint Force Training Centre (JFTC) has been providing support to the NATO-Georgia Joint Training and Evaluation Centre (JTEC) since 2016. JTEC provides training and evaluation to Georgian and international forces aimed at enhancing Georgia’s defence capabilities, increasing its interoperability with NATO, and contributing to strengthening regional and international security. As such, the NATO Joint Force Training Centre, together with NATO Land Command Headquarters, has been supporting JTEC in preparing and conducting the NATO-Georgia Exercises.

The NATO-Georgia Exercise 2022 constitutes an opportunity for NATO Allies and partner nations to share experience, skills and know-how with Georgian Defence Forces and to further develop their command and control capabilities and their ability to operate effectively alongside forces from other NATO member and partner countries. The exercise will also provide a platform to test and consolidate the Georgian Defence Forces’ ability to perform crisis management tasks, through a comprehensive approach based on cooperation with a range of civilian and military actors, including international organizations and non-governmental organizations. This exercise is a routine multinational crisis response exercise that takes place every three years. The NATO-Georgia Exercise 2022 is conducted transparently, in close cooperation with NATO structures, according to NATO procedures and with full respect of international obligations."