CHISINAU, April 29 (RIA Novosti) - Moldova has canceled plans to participate in NATO-led military exercises in Georgia in May, the Moldpres state news agency reported on Wednesday.

The Cooperative Longbow 09/Cooperative Lancer 09 command-and-staff exercise will be held from May 6 through June 1. Russia has strongly protested against the planned drills.

In response to Russian criticism, the Western military alliance has said the drills were planned before the Russia-Georgia conflict, and that the exercise is open to all ally states, including Russia.

"We are convinced, and are telling all our partners, that it is dangerous to appease the current Georgian regime, which has in no way abandoned its attempts to solve its problems via militarization and the use of force," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday.

A source at the NATO headquarters in Brussels told RIA Novosti that Russia was overreacting. He said the drills are "not the end of the world" and that "no one is being forced" to participate.