REGIONAL GROUP PLANNING PEACEKEEPING FORCES

AzerNews Weekly, Azerbaijan
June 8 2006

GUAM, an alliance of CIS states Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and
Moldova, is considering the establishment of its own peacekeeping
forces, Azerbaijani Defense Minister Safar Abiyev has said.

“The issue has long been discussed on the level of GUAM experts,”
he told the press last week. He said that in case such a unit is
established, peacekeepers may be stationed in the Upper (Nagorno)
Garabagh conflict zone. Abiyev said preparation of relevant documents
is underway and they will be further submitted to the presidents of
the group’s member states for signing.

A spokesman for the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, Andrey Lisenko, said
deputy chiefs-of-staff of GUAM member states are due to meet in Kiev
in mid-July to outline the structure and tasks of the peacekeeping
contingent.