TBILISI, Georgia, April 30 (UPI) -- The United States on Tuesday sent 20 U.S. troops to Georgia in the first stage of its efforts to train and equip anti-terrorist forces in the former Soviet republic, local television reported.
The press service of the U.S. Embassy in Tbilisi released a Pentagon statement that said U.S. President George W. Bush had ordered the troops to Georgia to help its military receive necessary training and equipment required to fight terrorists believed to be based there.
Washington says a group of al Qaida members have found a safe haven in Georgia's Pankisi Gorge after fleeing the U.S. crackdown on the group in Afghanistan last fall.
In March, the Pentagon announced it would send around 200 military instructors to Tbilisi train Georgian anti-terrorist units.
The decision immediately sparked discussion that Washington would attempt to establish its military presence in a region dominated by Moscow. However, Russian President Vladimir Putin and other top government officials remained cool on the issue and encouraged Washington to step up its efforts to corner terrorists. Moscow says Chechen rebels have taken refuge in the Pankisi Gorge.
On Tuesday, Georgian Deputy Defense Minister Gela Bezhuashvili said a group of the U.S. Army logistics specialists had arrived in Tbilisi from a U.S. military base in Europe. The chief task of these experts, the official said, would make arrangements for the arrival of the larger portion of the U.S. troops that are expected to be transferred to Georgia later.
"U.S. military specialists will select candidates for Georgia's anti-terrorist units that will amount to a total of 2,000 men," Bezhuashvili said.
Around 150 U.S. servicemen are expected to reach Georgia under a Pentagon-funded program worth $64 million, he added.
Authorities in Georgia's separatist province of Abkhazia have expressed concerns that U.S.-trained Georgian troops may later be used to attempt to recapture Abkhazia, which broke away from Tbilisi in 1993. Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze has, however, made written guarantees to Washington that the forces wouldn't be used to launch a potential aggression against Abkhazia.
U.S. envoy to Moscow Alexander Vershbow said at a news conference Tuesday that Washington and Moscow were closely discussing the issue of Georgia's territorial problems ahead of the Bush-Putin summit in late May.
The ambassador said the White House would pursue the issue of Georgia's territorial integrity with Abkhazia being given wide autonomy. He said Georgia should retain its integrity and sovereignty under a "U.N.-sponsored peace plan aiming to reintegrate Abkhazia into Georgia in the capacity of an autonomous republic."
