Georgia will cut the size of its military contingent in Iraq from 2,000 soldiers and other personnel to around 300 by next summer, the defense minister said Friday.

David Kezerashvili told reporters that the decision to cut the force was part of a previously reached deal with U.S. military officials and was not connected to President Bush's announcement Thursday night ordering gradual reductions in U.S. forces in Iraq.
""We had an agreement with the Americans that we would cut our military contingent by the summer of 2008. This was set up from the very beginning and, accordingly, there will be no talk at all about any sort of reduction before that time,"" he said.
""The Georgian contingent will be cut to around 300,"" he said.
Georgia, an ex-Soviet republic located in the strategic South Caucasus region, has become a devoted U.S. ally and aggressively pushed for membership in NATO and the European Union.
Earlier this year, Georgia boosted the size of its Iraq forces, which are involved peacekeeping operations in Kut, 100 miles southeast of Baghdad.
The deployment, while not enthusiastically supported, is embraced by many Georgians. Monthly salaries for some peacekeeping troops run around $2,000 — a large sum in a country afflicted by persistent poverty and high unemployment.
Georgian troops are also serving in Kosovo and could soon be sent to Afghanistan.
(Source: AP