TBILISI, August 6 (RIA Novosti) - The Georgian parliament unanimously approved on Thursday sending troops to Afghanistan in support of a NATO-led peacekeeping operation in the war-torn country.
President Mikheil Saakashvili asked the parliament earlier this week to approve Georgia's participation in the international effort to fight the Taliban militants in Afghanistan.
According to the Georgian media, 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.
NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, who made a surprise visit to Kabul on Wednesday, told reporters that a "comprehensive approach" was needed in fighting against the Taliban along with a stronger international commitment.
Georgy Kandelaki, deputy chairman of the Georgian parliament's foreign affairs committee, told reporters on Thursday that Georgia agreed to send its troops to the warzone for two reasons.
"First of all, our servicemen will gain combat experience because they will be in the middle of combat action, and that is a really invaluable experience," Kandelaki said.
"Secondly, it will be a heavy argument to support Georgia's NATO aspirations," he added.
Georgia's desire to join NATO has been central to Saakashvili's foreign policy since he came to power in 2004. The alliance put Georgia and Ukraine's bids on hold last April, although it promised to revisit the decision in the future.
