Russian speaker says Armenia free to send troops to Iraq

Arminfo
15 Dec 04

YEREVAN

Armenia is a sovereign state and as a sovereign state, it has to solve
the issue of sending its peacekeepers to Iraq independently, the
speaker of the Russian State Duma, Boris Gryzlov, who is paying an
official visit to Armenia, told a news conference in Yerevan today
when commenting on the possible sending of 50 Armenian peacekeepers to
Iraq.

“Russia treats Armenia as a friend and respects its decisions,” he
said.

As far as Russia’s official position is concerned, Gryzlov said it has
been voiced on several occasions. He stressed that Russia considers it
appropriate to carry out peacekeeping operations in Iraq only with the
consent of the UN and the OSCE.