March 3, 2002	Sunday	Zilhaj 18, 1422

TBLISI, March 2: Around 1,500 Georgian troops will be trained by US military advisers under an agreement announced as part of international efforts to combat terrorism, Georgian Deputy Defence Minister Guela Bejuashvili said on Saturday.

“We now think that the number of officers and soldiers who will be trained by the Americans will be 1,500,” he said.

“Their training will begin in late March.”

Wednesday’s announcement of the training deal and the donation of helicopters by the US to Georgia continued to provoke strong reactions among some Russian politicians and newspapers.

Saturday’s edition of Izvestia asked how Russia could continue to justify its leadership of the Commonwealth of Independent States while the US military remains in Central Asia and Georgia.

The official Rossiskaia Gazeta said the step was an important test of the solidarity of the anti-terrorism alliance between the US and Russia.

Breaking a long silence on the issue, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday offered his full support to Washington, saying Moscow backed “the fight against terrorism (in Georgia)... no matter who is taking part in it.”

US officials have said they believe al-Qaeda fighters may be hiding in Georgia’s Pankisi Gorge region, which borders Chechnya.—AFP