Georgia, which has 950-strong combat unit in Afghanistan, has offered to send 20 instructors to help train the Afghan forces, the Georgian Ministry of Defense said.

It said that President Saakashvili voiced the proposal at a meeting of leaders from countries contributing to the Afghan operation on a sideline of NATO Lisbon summit on November 20.

"The proposal made by Georgia today is very important," Bacho Akhalaia, the Georgian defense minister, said on November 20. "We offered to send Georgian military instructors who will provide training for the Afghan military in various professions; it might be infantry component, or aviation,” Mr. Akhalaia stated.