TBILISI - The ex-Soviet republic of Georgia on Friday confirmed plans to cut the size of its military force in Iraq from 2,000 troops to 300 by the end of next summer.
"In line with our agreement with the United States, our military contingent in Iraq will be reduced from 2,000 to 300 servicemen by the end of summer 2008," Georgian Defence Minister David Kezerashvili told journalists.
He said the cut had always been planned and did not reflect a change in policy in the wake of Washington's plans to gradually reduce its forces in Iraq.
US President George W. Bush announced Thursday that he will withdraw some 21,500 soldiers from Iraq by mid-2008.
Georgia this year more than doubled the number of its troops stationed in Iraq from 850 to 2,000, making the tiny country of 4.7 million the largest contributor of forces to Iraq per capita.
The Georgian brigade is deployed in the Iraqi province of Wasit, a hotbed of smuggling near the Iranian border.
Georgian forces also patrol the predominantly Shiite local capital, Kut, where coalition forces have clashed with insurgents.
Tbilisi boosted its contributions to the war in Iraq as a way of cementing an increasingly strong alliance with the United States.
Over the last five years, the US has spent more than 175 million dollars (132 million euros) on military assistance to Georgia, providing modern weaponry and equipment along with training.
Dominated by neighbouring Russia for most of the last two centuries, Georgia has sought closer ties with the West since President Mikheil Saakashvili came to power in 2004.
Saakashvili has pledged to bring his country into NATO and said Georgia's contribution to international missions is a key step toward membership.
im-mm/sms/ar
09/14/2007 15:21 GMT