06 06 23 - GEORGIA RANKS FIRST IN ARMAMENT

RACEPanARMENIAN.Net13.06.2006 17:54 GMT+04:00/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Georgia is the world leader in military expenditures,says the annual report of the Stockholm International Peace ResearchInstitute (SPRI) engaged in the investigation of the armament market.Tbilisi's expenditures for armament increased 2.5 times during a yearand made $146 million.Compared with the United States, China, Russia, European states and NearEast the amount is not much but Georgia left behind its neighbors- Azerbaijan (with 51% growth) and Armenia (23% growth). The SPRIspecialists condition the sharp growth of expenditures with Georgia'swish to join the NATO. However they also mention Georgia's aspiration tore-subordinate Abkhazia and South Ossetia, reported the BBC News.

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