SUKHUMI, August 11 (RIA Novosti, Ruslan Tarba) - Large-scale military exercises are scheduled for August 15-17 in Abkhazia, the Defense Minister of the self-proclaimed republic in Georgia told RIA Novosti.

According to Sultan Sosnaliyev, the exercises will be the largest since 2002, when the armed clashes between Georgia and Abkhazia ended. Aside from regular military units, several brigades of reservists will participate in the maneuvers. The minister invited the media to provide news coverage of the exercises.

The exercises will include demonstration firing and an amphibious assault landing.

Sosnaliyev said that the goal of the exercises was to practice combat tactics, to eliminate an enemy after it has performed an amphibious assault landing, and to deploy reserves to repel enemy attacks from the sea or the mountains.

The minister said current exercises would be larger than the spring 2005 maneuvers.