Interfax, Russia
Feb 27 2010

Armenian servicemen join security forces at Afghan Kunduz Airport

MOSCEVAN Feb 27

Armenia’s decision to send a military contingent to Afghanistan will
not influence its relations with allies within the Collective Security
Treaty Organization (CSTO), the organization’s General Secretary
Nikolai Bordyuzha said on Saturday.

"If Armenia takes a decision to send its contingent to Afghanistan, it
means that it has its reasons to do so. But this will not affect its
relations with allies within the CSTO in any way," Bordyuzha said.

A spokesman for Armenia’s Defense Ministry told Interfax that Armenian
servicemen had joined efforts to provide security at Afghanistan’s
Kunduz Airport.

The Armenian military contingent, which includes 36 infantry soldiers,
three officers and one military doctor, is part of Germany’s military
unit, which reports to NATO’s northern regional command. It attended a
three-week training program in Germany before leaving for Afghanistan.
Armenian servicemen will be rotated once every six months.

Armenian servicemen have been participating in the peacekeeping
mission as part of a Greek battalion in Kosovo since February 2004,
the ministry spokesman said.

An Armenian peacekeeping contingent also took part in the Iraq mission
over the period between January 2005 and October 2008 as a member of
the Polish-led North-South multinational division, he said.