US Marines to help train Georgian troops

TBILISI, Georgia (AP) - A group of U.S. Marines will arrive in Georgia to help train its troops for a mission alongside coalition forces in Afghanistan, the U.S. Embassy said Friday.

The move is likely to vex neighboring Russia, which has strongly spoken out against U.S. military assistance to Georgia.

The U.S. Embassy said in a statement that the training will focus on skills necessary for the troops to operate in Afghanistan. It said that a Georgian battalion is set to deploy to Afghanistan next spring.

The Embassy described Georgia's offer to send troops to Afghanistan as "a vital contribution to the mission of bringing stability and security to Afghanistan."

The training program will start Sept. 1 and no weapons will be provided to the Georgians as part of the training, it said.

The Embassy didn't say how many U.S. Marines will arrive in Georgia, but Georgia's Deputy Defense Ministry Gela Berdzenishvili put their number at 85.

Berdzenishvili told reporters Friday that the first group of about 170 Georgian servicemen will be sent to Afghanistan in November. More will be deployed later following a tour of training in France.

The United States helped train Georgian troops for their mission in Iraq before last August's war between Russia and Georgia.
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