800 troops from US, Europe take partin Moldova exercises

[IceWizard]

Published July 19, 2015
Associated Press

CHISINAU, Moldova – Some 800 troops
from Moldova, the U.S., Romania, Poland and Georgia are taking part in joint military exercises in Moldova, a former Soviet republic that borders Ukraine.

The "Joint Effort 2015"exercises began
Sunday and will run until July 25 at a military
base in Moldova's second-largest city of
Balti, where many ethnic Russians live.

Exercises coordinator Col. Veaceslav Rusu
said the aim of the maneuvers, among the
largest ever staged in Moldova, is to test
the interoperability of the countries' armed
forces.

Prior to the exercises, he said U.S.
troops trained Moldovan soldiers in using modern communications equipment and
consolidating Moldovan military control
systems.

Moldova has hosted more military exercises
since unrest broke out in Ukraine and
Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula last
year.

Moldova is a member of NATO's Partnership for Peace program.