[Fwd: [soviet_legacy] U.S. resumes training of Georgian troops]

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(Article below copied from Mikhail's Belosrus blog).

U.S. resumes training of Georgian troops
01/09/200901:18

TBILISI, September 1 (RIA Novosti) - U.S. military specialists are
starting on Tuesday a new training course for Georgian troops set to
join an international peacekeeping force in Afghanistan, the Georgian
Defense Ministry said.

A team of U.S. marine instructors earlier arrived in Georgia to train a
battalion for service as part of coalition forces in Afghanistan. A team
of 60-70 marines will be in the country for six months to help train a
750-strong battalion.

The Georgian parliament unanimously approved in August sending troops to
Afghanistan in support of a NATO-led peacekeeping operation in the
war-torn country.

According to earlier reports, a total of 350 Georgian servicemen will be
sent to central and eastern Afghanistan to join the International
Security Assistance Force (ISAF), which has about 65,000 troops in
Afghanistan under a UN mandate to give security support to the Afghan
government and stop the flow of drugs from the country.

An infantry company will be sent to the French responsibility zone, an
infantry battalion to the U.S. responsibility zone, and two servicemen
to the Turkish responsibility zone.

Meanwhile, military support provided by the U.S. to Georgia, and the
Caucasus country's drive to join NATO, are a major point of contention
in both countries' relations with Russia.

Moscow has accused Washington of promoting Tbilisi's aggression against
the former Georgian republic of South Ossetia last August. Russia
repelled the attack, fighting a five-day war with Georgia.

The United States helped train Georgian troops for a mission in Iraq
before last August's armed conflict.

http://en.rian.ru/mlitary_news/20090901/155980102.html
<http://en.rian.ru/mlitary_news/20090901/155980102.html>© RIA Novosti, 2008

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