ARMENIA BOOSTS AFGHANISTAN TROOP DEPLOYMENT
Agence France Presse
May 11, 2011 Wednesday 7:57 AM GMT
Parliament in ex-Soviet Armenia voted on Wednesday to almost triple
the number of troops being deployed to serve with NATO-led forces
fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan.
The number of Armenian soldiers serving with NATO’s International
Security Assistance Force will be increased from 45 to 130, and
the length of their mission will be extended until the end of 2012,
lawmakers agreed.
Armenian troops have been guarding a military airport near the Afghan
city of Kunduz under German command since January 2010.
Presenting the planned deployment increase to parliament on Tuesday,
Defence Minister Seyran Ohanian said that it would “promote the
development of relations not only with NATO, but also with the EU,
the US and Germany”.
The Caucasus country of 3.3 million people also contributed small
numbers of soldiers to the US-led mission in Iraq and currently has
troops serving with NATO-led forces in Kosovo.