The News in Brief
Thursday, July 24
400 Georgian soldiers to be sent to Afghanistan by year end
About 400 Georgian solders will be sent to Afghanistan by the end of this year.
Deputy Defense Minister Batu Kutelia said the soldiers will be deployed in both the north and the south of the country.
“We are ready to send our Special Forces units wherever it is needed and wherever the operation requires. This is our offer to NATO. Georgia can also contribute other types of units manned with the soldiers who gained experience in Operation Iraqi Freedom,” Kutelia said.
The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan comprises over 50 000 troops from over 40 countries.
Georgia has deployed troops to Iraq since 2003. Last summer the government increased the contingent in Iraq to 2000. (Prime News)
EU to continue work to restore confidence between conflict sides
Benita Ferrero-Waldner, the European Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighborhood Policy, has said that the EU will continue its work to restore confidence between the sides and promote conditions for further negotiations.
“Our plan includes working together for decrease tension in the region…First of all it is necessary to restore trust in region and to create conditions for the subsequent negotiations,” she stated. (Prime News)
Gas supply to Kutaisi to be shut off temporarily
Due to repair work in Terjola district Kutaisi will not be supplied with gas today.
The company Kaz-Trans-Gas-Tbilisi said the supply will be cut off from Imereti province and parts of western Georgia while repair works are undergone. (Tbilisi)
Cabinet meeting in Kutaisi
A cabinet meeting will be held in Kutaisi tomorrow.
Led by President Mikheil Saakashvili, it will be held at the Kutaisi State University and will discuss the government’s Kutaisi development project.
The president will observe repair work in historic parts of Kutaisi. (Prime News)
President to visit Turkey
President Mikheil Saakashvili will arrive in Kars, Turkey today to participate in a ceremony marking the start of construction of the Turkish part of the Baku–Tbilisi–Kars railway.
The presidents of Turkey, Azerbaijan and Georgia will make speeches and meet afterwards. The Turkish section, which will be around 70 kilometers in length, will connect Kars in northeastern Turkey to the Georgian border.
The project was hailed by Saakashvili as a “geopolitical revolution” last year at the inauguration ceremony of the Georgian section. However, it is not backed by the US and EU, which are concerned by the project’s exclusion of Armenia. (Prime News)
About 400 Georgian solders will be sent to Afghanistan by the end of this year.
Deputy Defense Minister Batu Kutelia said the soldiers will be deployed in both the north and the south of the country.
“We are ready to send our Special Forces units wherever it is needed and wherever the operation requires. This is our offer to NATO. Georgia can also contribute other types of units manned with the soldiers who gained experience in Operation Iraqi Freedom,” Kutelia said.
The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan comprises over 50 000 troops from over 40 countries.
Georgia has deployed troops to Iraq since 2003. Last summer the government increased the contingent in Iraq to 2000. (Prime News)
EU to continue work to restore confidence between conflict sides
Benita Ferrero-Waldner, the European Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighborhood Policy, has said that the EU will continue its work to restore confidence between the sides and promote conditions for further negotiations.
“Our plan includes working together for decrease tension in the region…First of all it is necessary to restore trust in region and to create conditions for the subsequent negotiations,” she stated. (Prime News)
Gas supply to Kutaisi to be shut off temporarily
Due to repair work in Terjola district Kutaisi will not be supplied with gas today.
The company Kaz-Trans-Gas-Tbilisi said the supply will be cut off from Imereti province and parts of western Georgia while repair works are undergone. (Tbilisi)
Cabinet meeting in Kutaisi
A cabinet meeting will be held in Kutaisi tomorrow.
Led by President Mikheil Saakashvili, it will be held at the Kutaisi State University and will discuss the government’s Kutaisi development project.
The president will observe repair work in historic parts of Kutaisi. (Prime News)
President to visit Turkey
President Mikheil Saakashvili will arrive in Kars, Turkey today to participate in a ceremony marking the start of construction of the Turkish part of the Baku–Tbilisi–Kars railway.
The presidents of Turkey, Azerbaijan and Georgia will make speeches and meet afterwards. The Turkish section, which will be around 70 kilometers in length, will connect Kars in northeastern Turkey to the Georgian border.
The project was hailed by Saakashvili as a “geopolitical revolution” last year at the inauguration ceremony of the Georgian section. However, it is not backed by the US and EU, which are concerned by the project’s exclusion of Armenia. (Prime News)