A PEACEKEEPING BRIGADE MAY BE FORMED TO 2012 IN ARMENIA

PanARMENIAN.Net
29.05.2007 13:31 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ According to the Armenia-NATO Individual
Partnership Action Plan (IPAP) the peacekeeping brigade of the
Armenian Armed Forces must be formed already in 2012, head of
International Cooperation and Defense Programs Department of the
Armenian Defense Ministry General Mikael Melkonyan stated to a press
conference in Yerevan. However, he said the Armenian side may form
the above-mentioned brigade already to 2010-2012. "We have bases
and trained resources for that purpose. The brigade will be an elite
subdivision of the Armenian army," Melkonyan underlined.

Mikael Melkonyan reminded that currently Armenian peacekeepers
participate in the peacekeeping and stability mission of Kosovo and
Iraq. "Armenian peacekeepers deserved high commendations from U.S.

Defense Ministry and NATO for professionalism and training in
operations of Kosovo and Iraq," he said.

The Armenian contingent in Iraq carries out pure technical tasks within
the Polish contingent, and another similar battalion is included in
the Greek peacekeeping brigade in Kosovo.

In 2002 the United Nations proclaimed May 29 as Day of Peacekeepers.