Georgian MoD Says Tbilisi Committed to NATO-Led Mission in Afghanistan
In a phone conversation with U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Robert Work on Thursday, Georgian Defense Minister Tina Khidasheli reiterated Georgia’s commitment to continue troop contribution to NATO-led mission in Afghanistan.
The Georgian Ministry of Defense said that the phone conversation took place after U.S. President Barack Obama announced on Thursday about slowing the pace of U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan. The U.S. will maintain its current force of 9,800 through most of 2016.
The Georgian MoD said that Khidasheli “reiterated once again the Georgian side’s readiness to continue participation along with the U.S. forces in the NATO-led international mission in Afghanistan.”
A phone conversation was also held between chief of joint staff of the Georgian armed forces, Major General Vakhtang Kapanadze, and U.S. Air Force General Philip Breedlove, who is NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe and commander of U.S. forces in Europe.
“They discussed plan of implementation of future mission in Afghanistan and issues of further cooperation,” the Georgian MoD said.
With up to 885 soldiers Georgia is the second largest troop contributor to NATO’s Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan.
Georgian troops, whose duties focus on security and rapid reaction force, are deployed at the Bagram Air Field in the Parwan province under the U.S. command; at the German army’s Camp Marmal in Mazar-i-Sharif, and in Kabul.
Georgia has lost 31 soldiers in Afghanistan with the most recent death in September, 2015, when Private First Class Vasil Kuljanishvili was killed in an attack while on patrol in the Parwan province.
