Tbilisi Ready to Render Support to US in Event of War in Iraq

Tbilisi is ready "to render the US both political and military support in the event of a military operation against Iraq," Secretary of the Georgian National Security Council Tedo Dzhaparidze said.

At the same time, Dzhaparidze did not disclose what particular "military support" he meant.

While speaking live on the Tbilisi Imedi radio, the Georgian National Security Council secretary reported that Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze had informed a US Administration representative of Tbilisi's relevant readiness.

Dzhaparidze added, "everything now depends on what decision the US leadership takes in response to Georgia's proposal." The statement was Georgia's first official reaction to the Western mass media report, referring to the Pentagon, that the US was considering Georgia's proposal to use its air fields and other facilities of the Georgian Defence Ministry in the event of war in Iraq.

Earlier, the Georgian president declared that the country's leadership supported the US intention to unleash a military attack against Iraq. The Georgian Orthodox Church holds an opposite view: it has urged "everyone who can to counteract the developments and to avert a war against Iraq, otherwisse it will trigger an unpredictable chain reaction in the world."