ARMENIA PROLONGS PEACEMAKING MISSION IN IRAQ FOR A YEAR

2007-12-04 15:37:00

ArmInfo. Armenian National Assembly agreed to prolong the mission of
Armenian peacemakers in Iraq for a year, Tuesday.

Armenian Defense Minister Mikael Haroutunyan explained that Armenia’s
mission is exclusively humanitarian. It is fixed in documents
and fulfilled without changes. Given the high assessment of the
activity of Armenian peacemakers by the Command and the promotion
to the country’s international image and trust in the Armenian
Armed Forces, the Defense Ministry made a decision to prolong the
mission twice for a year. The minister mentioned that Armenia joined
the international peacemaking mission to Iraq in December 2004. The
Armenian subdivision comprising 46 people left for Iraq in the Polish
division. Armenian peacemakers are permanently rotated. The term of
the 6th group expires on December 25 2007. Minister Haroutunyan said
276 servicemen have already participated in the peacemaking mission to
Iraq and no Armenian peacemaker has been killed during the mission. At
the same time, the minister mentioned that Senior Lieutenant Georgy
Nalbandyan was injured in landmine blast last year. After treatment
in Germany and the USA, he returned to service. The minister also
added that participation in international peacemaking creates
opportunities of mutually advantageous military cooperation with
the USA and European countries. From the point of view of European
integration, it proves that the country intends to be a creator of
the international security system and not just the user, the minister
said. He stressed that non-participation in the peacemaking missions
will create definite obstacles to the country’s relations in the
international arena. Moreover, participation in the mission to Iraq
is useful for Armenia since it is a peculiar training for Armenian
peacemaking battalion, which will become a good basis for creation
of a peacemaking brigade.