TBILISI, March 24 (AVN) - The Georgian army, which currently numbers 30,000 servicemen is to be decreased, a source in the country's Defence Ministry told the Military News Agency Friday.
The decision has to be made urgently given the recent approval of the state budget for 2000 by the Georgian parliament, the source said. The budget presupposes on 43m Lari (USD21.5m) for the national defence.
NATO experts, who have recently elaborated the decade development programme for the republic's Armed Forces, also think the reduction is necessary, the source went on.
Sir Harry Johnson, chairman of the international council attached to the Georgian SC, has said recently, that the establishment of a mobile and well-equipped army in the republic would require large investments, and hence the question of its optimal staff number becomes one of the most urgent as of now.
At the moment the parliament is deciding upon this optimal number. According to Revaz Adamia, head of the parliamentary defence and security committee, a bill is proposed for hearings stating the number of the Armed Forces should be 27,000. He also did not rule out the possibility of a further decrease in this number.