NATO commander arrives in Georgia

NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe, Admiral James Stavridis has today arrived in Georgia with a two-day visit. He has held his first meeting with Georgian Defense Minister Bacho Akhalaia.

Following the meeting, Stavridis and Akhalaia stated that they discussed Georgia's participation in the ISAF operation in Afghanistan.

"We highly appreciate Georgia’s contribution to the international security issues and thank the country for taking part in operations in Afghanistan. We are proud of the Georgian military, which well performed during the NATO operation in Afghanistan," Stavridis said.

He expressed a special gratitude to the Minister Akhalaia, who "does his job well."
In turn, Akhalaia said that the meeting discussed specific aspects of Georgia's participation in the ISAF operation.

Stavridis will hold a series of meetings with senior officials of Georgia.

Some 900 Georgian militaries perform their duties in a zone of responsibility of the United States and France in Afghanistan. This figure will increase to 1,500 servicemen in 2011, an agreement on what has been achieved at the highest level.

Eight Georgian soldiers were killed and up to two dozen were injured during operations in Afghanistan.


/Trend/