Georgian troops to guard Iraq-Iran border

IRAN AND IRAQ BOARDER TO BE SEALED

TBILISI. April 30 (Interfax) - The Georgian military contingent in Iraq is to be the third largest military force in the Arab country soon and will guard the Iraqi-Iranian border from June 2007, the Georgian Defense Ministry said on Monday. On Monday, the third day of his current visit to Iraq, Georgian Defense Minister David Kezerashvili inspected the surroundings of Alkuta, a town 60 kilometers from the Iranian border that will be the base of a 2,000-strong Georgian brigade, the ministry told Interfax. The brigade will guard the Iraqi-Iranian border. "Until now, a Polish contingent has been carrying out this mission, but from June the border will be guarded by Georgian troops. An Armenian, Ukrainian, Salvadoran, and Kazakh units will be under Georgian command," the ministry said. The chief of the Georgian military general staff, Col. Zaza Gogava, and the commander of the Georgian land forces, Lt. Col. Alexander Osepaishvili, are accompanying the minister on his visit. "Kezerashvili also familiarized himself with the service conditions of the 33rd Battalion of the Georgian Defense Ministry, which is deployed in Baghdad, and visited Baqubah, where the 31st Battalion of the Defense Ministry is deployed," the ministry said. It said that, in terms of numbers and the nature of tasks, the Georgian contingent will rank third after the U.S. and British forces from the summer as foreign armed forces in Iraq go.