Georgia is dispatching nearly 1,000 troops to Afghanistan as a sign of gratitude towards the west, President Mikheil Saakashvili wrote in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece on Saturday.

Saakashvili, who is keen for Georgia to join NATO, stressed that Tbilisi was "firmly allied to the values of the US and the trans-Atlantic community."

Georgia "has been grateful for the extent to which the US and Europe have stood alongside us over recent years. Now we are proud to stand -- and fight -- alongside you," he wrote.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization froze its ties with Russia after its conflict with Georgia in August 2008. Ties were restored some four months later.

The troop commitment -- a heavy battalion and two light companies -- makes this former Soviet republic the largest per capital contributor to the war effort, Saakashvili wrote.