YEREVAN, July 13 (Sputnik) – Armenia is ready to continue participating in the NATO Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan, contributing to international efforts aimed at bringing peace and stability to this country, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on Thursday.
On Thursday, Pashinyan took part in a meeting of non-NATO states' leaders engaged in the alliance's Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan.
"Armenia has been contributing to NATO-led peace operation in Afghanistan since 2010, first as a part of International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and then of the Resolute Support Mission … We stand ready to continue our engagement with up to 130 servicemen with the Resolute Support Mission. We have also expressed our readiness to participate in the NATO Enduring Partnership mission, once it replaces the Resolute Support Mission," Pashinyan said at the meeting as quoted by the Armenian government press service.
Pashinyan added that Yerevan would continue supporting inclusive peace process in Afghanistan.
"I would like to once again emphasize that we will continue to support the international efforts to establish a comprehensive peace, prosperity and stability in friendly Afghanistan," the prime minister stressed.
Since February 2010, there were 40 Armenian servicemen in Afghanistan. In June 2011, 81 Armenian servicemen started service at the military base in Mazari Sharif in the north of the country. The Armenian contingent provided security in the local airport, carried patrol service and controlled checkpoints.
In August 2012, the mission of the Armenian contingent in Mazari Sharif ended. A new contingent of Armenian troops, consisting of 131 people, went to Afghanistan that same month to serve in the Mile Spann military base. Armenian peacekeepers have been protecting the checkpoint of the military base and the adjacent territory. All costs for the training and technical support of the contingent of Armenia's peacekeeping forces in Afghanistan were assumed by Germany.