NATO Secretary General, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, speaks during a press conference in Brussels on October 10. Photo: NATO

NATO Secretary General, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, said on October 10 he expects Georgian troops to be available for the NATO’s rapid-reaction force in 2015.
 
“Georgia, has offered to join the Response Force in the future, and been accepted. I would therefore anticipate that Georgian troops would be made available for the force as of 2015,” Rasmussen said, adding that it would be the first time “Georgia has joined NATO’s rapid-reaction team.”

He made the comment in his opening remarks during a monthly press conference when speaking about Alliance’s cooperation with non-NATO member, partner states.

Georgia’s Defense Minister, Irakli Alasania, said in August that it had already been decided by NATO’s North Atlantic Council to make Georgia part of the NATO Response Force in 2015; he said this decision “speaks of itself how much Georgian troops and Georgian defense is valued.”