US Commander: “We’ll always stand by Georgia as Georgia always stands by us when we ask for help”

A NATO Commander in Afghanistan is reaching out to Georgian authorities and telling them he's honoured to be a commander of Georgian peacekeepers serving abroad.

The Commander of NATO's Resolute Support and United States (US) Forces in Afghanistan, General John Nicholson, met top Georgian officials during his visit to Tbilisi today.

The General thanked the Georgian Government for Georgia's military participation in peacemaking efforts and contribution to ensuring global security within the NATO Resolute Support mission and other ventures.

"Georgian soldiers have been serving alongside American peacekeepers for years in Afghanistan, and we certainly appreciate their contribution,” Nicholson said after meeting Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili.

As we continue our mission in Afghanistan, it feels great knowing that we can count on the professionalism of the Georgian soldiers.”

As an American General, I cannot overestimate our appreciation of our partnership with Georgia, as clearly demonstrated by the Noble Partner joint trainings which involved American and British soldiers participating in training together with their Georgian counterparts.”

The NATO Commander added the "US firmly supports Georgia's territorial integrity and sovereignty”.

He stressed the US would always stand by Georgia as Georgia always stood by US when America asked for support.

Black Sea security

General Nicholson said security in the Black Sea region was a priority for NATO.

A lot of our alleys and partner countries are situated along the Black Sea coast so the Black Sea security is very important for us,” he said.

He noted NATO had a special strategy regarding security in the Black Sea, which included air and sea patrols as well as military trainings.

Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan

Following the completion of the mission of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) at the end of 2014, a new, follow-on, NATO-led mission called Resolute Support was launched on January 1, 2015 to provide further training, advice and assistance for the Afghan security forces and institutions. At the NATO Summit in Warsaw, allied leaders decided to extend the presence of the Resolute Support Mission beyond 2016.

Georgia is the largest non-NATO contributor to the NATO peace missions in Afghanistan and the fifth largest contributor to NATO overall.