Category: News

ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
January 11, 2005 Tuesday 7:47 AM Eastern Time
Russia ready to mediate Karabakh problem settlement-Putin
By Viktoria Sokolova
MOSCOW
Russia’s is ready to act as a mediator of settlement of the
Nagorno-Karabakh problem, President Vladimir Putin told reporters
after his meeting with Turkish businessmen in Moscow on Tuesday.
“Russia will do everything in order to settle conflicts that have
left after the USSR. We shall do this as a mediator and guarantor,
with an understanding that accords should be reached between the
sides in the conflict – Armenia and Azerbaijan”.
Putin said he and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan “did not
discuss directly” at their talks on Tuesday settlement of the
Karabakh conflict.
However, they “touched in a general outline on the relations between
Russia and Armenia, Armenia and Turkey”.
Putin said he and the Turkish prime minister shared the idea that
“one should seek to establish friendly relations between neighbours”.
“We know the difficult history of the legacy between Turkey and
Armenia”, the president said, adding that Armenia “is looking for way
of improving relations” with Turkey.
Russia will help this process, Putin said.
Erdogan for his part said he was ready to establish the interaction
with Armenia.
Turkey will hold consultations in order to find a solution to the
issue, he said.
“I hope that there will be a constructive answer to our consultative
approach.”
Erdogan stressed the Turkey’s policy regarding Armenia was oriented
towards “settlement, and not a lack of settlement”.
He cited as the latest step to establish cooperation the opening of
the Istanbul airport for flights to Armenia.
The ground border between the two countries has not been opened so
far, as “answering movement has not been demonstrated” to proposals
of Ankara.
The efforts to establish the interaction with Armenia should be built
up, Erdogan said.
Turkey does not want to hurt the neighbours, he said.

Financial Times (London, England)
January 10, 2005 Monday
London Edition 1
The dangers of pick’n’mix history
By MARK MAZOWER
In 1401, while besieging the city of Damascus, the Mongol ruler
Tamurlane, whose armies had plundered their way from Moscow to Delhi,
summoned the scholar Ibn Khaldun. Who better to lay bare for him the
secrets of civilisation and political power than the author of that
enduring masterpiece of world history The Book of Lessons. History,
according to Ibn Khaldun, acquaints us with great figures of the past
and allows us to be guided by their example.
The all-conquering Tamurlane was a smart and argumentative man, keen
to glean any insights the past could provide. But was he able to
predict the triumphant successes that followed, or the later division
of his vast empire? Ibn Khaldun, who reminded his readers that
victory and superiority in war come from luck and chance – and that
no dynasty can expect to last more than four generations – would not
have been surprised by either.
The idea that history’s value lies in the lessons it offers us goes
back a long way. Cicero described the past as “the teacher of life”;
Hegel saw knowledge of it as the precondition for self-awareness and
freedom. And what Novalis called “the magic wand of analogy” is still
waved vigorously. Ahead of the invasion of Iraq, George W. Bush
warned the United Nations against following the miserable example of
the League of Nations, while Tony Blair, Britain’s prime minister,
insisted he would not be remembered for appeasement. Historically
minded dissenters dismissed Mr Blair’s implicit reference to Neville
Chamberlain, likening him instead to Eden or Gladstone, imperial
interventionists whose sincerity was matched only by the catastrophic
consequences of their actions. Iraq in 2003 was thus turned,
depending on the viewpoint, into 1939, or 1956, or 1882.
No doubt history offers statesmen (and their critics) a handy
rhetorical weapon. Once historical events embed themselves in the
public imagination, they easily become a shorthand for basic moral
concepts such as treachery (Pearl Harbor), cowardice (Munich),
heroism (Dunkirk) and evil (the Third Reich). But the mere invocation
of these over-familiar names scarcely provides lessons in any
meaningful sense. When those who favoured invading Iraq likened
Saddam Hussein to Hitler, they were not actually interested in
comparing the two men or their regimes. Hitler for them meant not the
historical flesh-and-blood figure but the demonic image that still
dominates the public consciousness of the west as the epitome of
wickedness.
Plundering history in this way can be downright dangerous and lead
unwary policymakers down the wrong path. Has Condoleezza Rice, former
Sovietologist, been helped or hindered in her role as national
security adviser by her reading of how communism collapsed in 1989?
Believing that overwhelming US military superiority was what really
ended the Soviet one-party state, it was tempting to imagine Tommy
Franks spreading democracy in the Middle East, too. Tempting – but
the analogy turned out to be a false friend. And how nice it would
have been if the success and tranquility of the post-1945 Allied
occupations in Germany and Japan really had offered reliable pointers
to Iraq’s post-invasion political trajectory. Yet this parallel,
frequently drawn by think-tanks and policy insiders, is little more
than wishful thinking. Taking occupation seriously as a historical
category would have meant pondering the French experience in Algeria,
the Russians in the Caucasus, or the Italians in Ethiopia. History is
not a pick’n’mix box of candy, in which you can pick only the sweet
ones.
Yet before we write off the whole idea of learning from the past, we
should try to distinguish the stuff of public debate from something
less noisy but more substantial. Selling policy is one thing; but
history can also act as a kind of reality check within the process of
policy formation itself. Comparison and analogy, properly conceived,
are the life-blood of historical analysis, but they depend on an
important kind of detached open-mindedness and a willingness to
explore both the similarities and the differences between the cases
being considered. Why should we not discuss how the treatment of the
Armenians in the first world war compares with the treatment of the
Jews in the second; or ask how the way Palestinians are governed in
the occupied territories differs from the way whites ruled blacks in
South Africa after 1948? Or why should we not explore the contrast in
all its complexity between the defeated Axis powers in 1945 and Iraq
today? Historical insights flow from such comparisons and there are
lessons to be learnt – about states and their ideologies, their
intended and unintended consequences – both for those making policy
and for those wishing to comprehend it.
Taken in the right spirit, therefore, history can provide its own
unique kind of help to understand the present. As a discipline it is
neither predictive, nor a practical guide to action: its lessons are
not so specific. Yet it remains an essential tool for scrutinising
the easy moralising, the ideological certainties and the expansive
claims that batter our ears. It can serve as a politician’s
cheerleader, but it can also weigh policy assumptions and contexts.
And a final heretical thought: should the present provide the only
test of its value anyway? Two centuries ago, Friedrich Schlegel, the
German critic, suggested that the study of the past gives us “a calm,
firm overview of the present (and) a measure of its greatness or
smallness”. Our normally democratic age likes to demand that history
serve it; but then it vanishes like Tamurlane’s empire and becomes
history in its turn. Maybe there is a lesson there too.
The writer is professor of history at Columbia University

Associated Press Worldstream
January 11, 2005 Tuesday 12:24 PM Eastern Time
Armenia announces aid to tsunami-hit region
YEREVAN, Armenia
The government of Armenia plans to send about 25 million drams
(US$50,000, [euro]38,000) in aid supplies to tsunami-hit Sri Lanka,
officials said Tuesday.
About two-thirds of the amount would be in tents and other goods, and
the remainder is medicine including antibiotics, Deputy Foreign
Minister Armen Baiburtian said.

IRNA, Iran
January 11, 2005 Tuesday 11:32 AM EST
Electricity transmission to Turkey via Iran
Tehran, January 11
The managing director of Azarbaijan Regional Power Company said here
on Tuesday that 245 million kilowatt/hour electricity have been
transmitted from Turkmenistan to Turkey via Iran during the first
eight months of 2004..
Fatah Qarebagh added that the transmission operation took place under
a tripartite agreement signed by the three states.
Under an agreement on the exchange of energy between Iran and
Azerbaijan, Qarebagh said that Iran imported 530 million
kilowatt/hour electricity from Azerbaijan, while exported 380 million
kilowatt/hour to the Autonomous Republic of Nakhichevan.
The official also announced that over 390 million kilowatt/hour
electricity were exported to Armenia during the first half of the
1383, while 82 million kilowatt/hour were imported from Armenia
during the said period.

PanArmenian News
Jan 11 2005
SIGNING OF AGREEMENT ON DECIDING KARABAKH STATUS VIA REFERENDUM NOT
RULED OUT
11.01.2005 15:50
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ “According to the data the Azg newspaper possesses,
it is not ruled out that Armenia and Azerbaijan may sign a
transitional agreement over Nagorno Karabakh, in compliance with
which the Karabakh forces will be withdrawn from some territories
under their control, while in exchange Nagorno Karabakh will be
conveyed for temporary governance of Armenia under the condition that
in 5 or 10 years a referendum on the Nagorno Karabakh status is
held,” Tatul Hakobian writes in the Azg newspaper first issue this
year. It should be reminded that a meeting of Armenian and Azeri
Foreign Ministers will take place in Prague today. Before leaving for
Prague yesterday Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanian stated
that “this year’s talks will qualitatively differ from the first
phase of the Prague meetings. We will discuss some details now.”
“Azg” also reminds of the December article in Le Figaro, which
suggested approximately the same settlement option signed by the NATO
Parliamentary Assembly Chairman. The newspaper also takes note of the
lately observed trend of resolution of conflict issues via referendums.
Thereupon the Azg article author reminds of the agreement over
resolution of the conflict in Sudan, as well as in Cyprus and the
possible repetition of the referendum scenario in Kosovo.

PanArmenian News
Jan 11 2005
NOT ONLY HUNGARIAN POLICEMEN, BUT ALSO LAWYERS DISLIKE AZERI
“RASKOLNIKOV”
11.01.2005 18:15
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ No one likes Ramil Safarov, the latter-day Azeri
“Raskolnikov”, who brutally hacked an Armenian officer in Budapest
last year. Armenians do not like him and his relations with Hungarian
warders were not good. Now it turned out that the Hungarian lawyer
does not defend “the man with the axe” properly. It seemed that the
cause is evident – it is not easy to defend Safarov even for a man
raised on the Christian culture of compassion. Nevertheless, though
the guy has expressing and big eyes, he possesses all natural
inclinations of a serial maniac murderer. However, the Azerbaijani
society to all appearance considers that is not the point, but the
matter rather lies in the rude Magyars not being able to get imbued
with all the nuances of the delicate and sensible mental construction
of “the axe-man”. A new lawyer should be hired, consider members of
the Coordination Council for defense of Ramil Safarov in Azerbaijan
(it turned out that such a council may have existed), who gathered
for a close sitting on the eve of the beginning of the recurrent
court hearing of the case of the latter-day shahid to be held
February 8, 2005. We can only regret that those people never
understood what was the most important: defending their man who is
almost a maniac again confirms that the matter cannot concern Nagorno
Karabakh Armenians becoming part of a country, in which nearly a cult
of a murder on an ethnic ground is possible. Thus Armenians – a
people with a Christianity tradition of 1700 years – do not have the
same way of return to the Stone Age with the supporters of a
murderer.

PRESS RELEASE
January 11, 2005
Embassy of the Republic of Armenia
2225 R Street, NW, Washington, DC, 20008
Tel: 202-319-1976, x. 348; Fax: 202-319-2982
Email: [email protected]; Web:
Embassy Hosts Christmas Open House, Concert by Armenian Musicians
On January 7, 2005, the Embassy of Armenia hosted the traditional Christmas
Open House reception for the Armenian American community of Greater
Washington area that featured a concert by famous Armenian musicians
performing in the U.S., Noune Karapetian (soprano) and Vahan Sargsyan
(piano).
Before the concert, Armenian Ambassador to the U.S., Dr. Arman Kirakossian
spoke briefly on Armenia’s achievements and challenges in 2004, emphasizing
the need for continued economic, political, humanitarian, and commercial
cooperation between the Diaspora and Homeland to sustain Armenia’s economic
growth and help address the social needs of the vulnerable people in
Armenia. Ambassador Kirakossian also presented his vision for the
U.S.-Armenian bilateral relations and cooperation in 2005.
The Armenian Ambassador then paid tribute and handed out certificates of
appreciation to Armenian-American friends of the Embassy who have
contributed toward maintenance and preservation of the historical building
of the Armenian Embassy in Washington in 2004.
The recital that followed featured selected pieces of Armenian and
international classical and folk music by Noune Karapetian and Vahan
Sargsyan.
The reception was attended by members of the Armenian-American community and
officials from the National Security Council, and State Department. Among
the guests were Chief Economic Adviser to the President, Vahram Nercissiantz
and former U.S. Ambassador to Armenia, Michael C. Lemmon.

PanArmenian News
Jan 11 2005
YOUNG TURKISH WRITER CONSIDERS TABOO FROM ARMENIAN GENOCIDE TOPIC
SHOULD BE REMOVED
11.01.2005 17:08
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ “In 1915 made almost the half of the Turkish
population were non-Muslims, who were expatriated or destroyed. This
topic should stop being a taboo,” young Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk,
whose works are known by European readers well, said in an interview
with Hurriyet newspaper. The state leaders consider that there is no
need to address that topic, as there is a problem in relations with
Armenia. “I am not interested in the issue of state relations with
Armenia. Many people were annihilated here,” O. Pamuk said.

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
Jan 11 2005
RA President congratulates Viktor Yushenko with election on the
position of the President of Ukraine
Catholicos of All Armenian receives Bulgarian Minister of Science and
Education
Plane of Armavia Airlines performing the flight from Yerevan in
Rostov on don was forced to return in Yerevan
Fifth round of negotiations between Armenian and Azerbaijani Foreign
Ministers on Karabakh settlement held in Prague
Monitoring of NKR and Azerbaijani Armed Forces contact zone reveals
no violations of the ceasefire regime
Robert Kocharian: `We cannot encourage creation of privileged
conditions for anyone’
Russia will be a mediator in settlement of Karabakh conflict and
relations between Turkey and Armenia – V. Putin
RA Ministry of Science and Education receives the Minister of Culture
and Science of Bulgaria
Armenia to send humanitarian aid to Sri-Lanka population affected by
tsunami disaster
*********************************************************************
RA PRESIDENT CONGRATULATES VIKTOR YUSHENKO WITH ELECTION ON THE
POSITION OF THE PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE
YEREVAN, January 11. /ARKA/. RA President Robert Kocharian
congratulated Viktor Yushenko with election on the position of the
President of Ukraine, President’s press office told ARKA. Kocharian
expressed confidence that historic relations between Armenian and
Ukrainian people will continue successful development and deepening
for the welfare of the two countries. L.D. –0–
*********************************************************************
CATHOLICOS OF ALL ARMENIAN RECEIVES BULGARIAN MINISTER OF SCIENCE AND
EDUCATION
YEREVAN, January 11. /ARKA/. Catholicos of All Armenian Garegin II
received Bulgarian Minister of Science and Education Igor Damianov,
St.Echmiadzin press office told ARKA. Garegin II noted expanding
relations between the countries, which are the `reflections of
century-long friendship of two Christian people’. He expressed
gratitude to Bulgarian authorities for tender attitude to Armenian
population of the republic.
RA Minister of Science and Education Sergo Yeritsian and Bulgarian
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Armenia Stephan
Dimitrov also took part in the meeting. L.D. –0–
*********************************************************************
PLANE OF ARMAVIA AIRLINES PERFORMING THE FLIGHT FROM YEREVAN IN
ROSTOV ON DON WAS FORCED TO RETURN IN YEREVAN
YEREVAN, January 11. /ARKA/. Plane of Armavia Airlines performing the
flight from Yerevan in Rostov on don was forced to return in Yerevan,
Armavia press service told ARKA. The decision was made after airport
of Rostov refused to accept the plant due to damage on landing strip.
L.D. –0–
*********************************************************************
FIFTH ROUND OF NEGOTIATIONS BETWEEN ARMENIAN AND AZERBAIJANI FOREIGN
MINISTERS ON KARABAKH SETTLEMENT HELD IN PRAGUE
YEREVAN, January 11. /ARKA/. The fifth round of negotiations between
Armenian and Azerbaijani Foreign Ministers Vardan Oskanian and Elmar
Mamedyarov on Karabakh settlement was held in Prague with
participation of Co-Chairmen of OSCE Minsk Group (MG). As Armenian
Foreign Ministry Press and Information Department told ARKA, earlier
both Ministers arrived in Prague by invitation of OSCE MG. As it is
stated in the press release, this is the first meeting of a similar
kind after some time break in the Prague negotiations. During the
meeting the Ministers discussed the issues related to possibilities
of settlement of the Karabakh conflict on the bases of common
approaches achieved during the previous stage of the negotiations.
Also, the Ministers had separate meetings with the Co-Chairmen of the
OSCE MG. Today in the late evening Oskanian returned to Yerevan.
To mention, the Foreign Ministers held four meetings around the
settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. On the last meeting of
the Ministers on Aug 30, the sides achieved agreement around future
meeting with the Co-Chairmen on Oct 25, 2004, however later the
meeting was postponed. As Oskanian stated earlier, all negotiations
concerning the process were suspended as the sides were expecting new
instructions from the Heads of two States around continuation of the
negotiating process. T.M. -0–
*********************************************************************
MONITORING OF NKR AND AZERBAIJANI ARMED FORCES CONTACT ZONE REVEALS
NO VIOLATIONS OF THE CEASEFIRE REGIME
YEREVAN, January 11. /ARKA/. The regular monitoring of the Nagorno
Karabakh and Azerbaijani Armed Forces contact zone near the
settlement of Marzili revealed no cases of violation of the ceasefire
regime. As NKR Foreign Ministry Press Service told ARKA, the
monitoring from the NKR territory was implemented by Coordinator of
the OSCE Tbilisi Office Lieutenant Colonel Imre Palatinusz (Hungary).
The Monitoring Group included Field Assistant of Personal
Representative of the OSCE Acting Chairman Alexander Samarsky
(Ukraine).
The monitoring was held as per the established schedule and no cases
of violation of the ceasefire regime were recorded.
The monitoring mission from the NKR side was accompanied by
representatives of the NKR Defense and Foreign Ministry. T.M. -0–
*********************************************************************
ROBERT KOCHARIAN: `WE CANNOT ENCOURAGE CREATION OF PRIVILEGED
CONDITIONS FOR ANYONE’
YEREVAN, January 11. /ARKA/. `It is necessary to conduct equal and
fair approach to economic subjects in realization of tax
administration’, RA President Robert Kocharian stated during the
meeting with the administration of RA State Tax Service. According to
the President, any exception will damage the whole process. `If you
start gathering taxes form yourself, your friends and relatives, I’m
sure you will not allow others stay away of tax field. Our attention
will be concentrated on this’, Kocharian said.
He stressed the necessity of easing the methodology of conduction of
tax inspections and paid attention of principle of conduction of
inspections on the base of results of researches. `Organization of
inspections should be realized on the base of data analysis, which
will increase their productivity. Researches of control service at RA
President’s show that there are companies where the inspections have
not been conducted for years and there are structures where the
inspections are made several times a year’, Kocharian said.
The President also paid attention to use of additional methods during
checking the reliability of reports of businessmen paying simplified
tax and fixed payments and improvement of mechanisms of control over
activity of tax inspectors and increase of demands to quality of
their work.
Kocharian stressed the necessity of increase the level of
transparency and publicity of process of settlement of all mentioned
problems. L.D. –0–
*********************************************************************
RUSSIA WILL BE A MEDIATOR IN SETTLEMENT OF KARABAKH CONFLICT AND
RELATIONS BETWEEN TURKEY AND ARMENIA – V. PUTIN
YEREVAN, January 11. /ARKA/. Russia will be a mediator in settlement
of Karabakh conflict and relations between Turkey and Armenia, RF
President Vladimir Putin stated during the meeting with
representatives of Turkish business circles in Moscow.
Answering the question of Turkish mass media, Putin said that during
the meeting the parties did not discuss Karabakh conflict.
Both parties expressed desire to establish friendly relations between
neighbors.
`Russia in its turn will make everything to settle conflicts in post
Soviet area, including Karabakh conflict’, Putin said and added, `But
we will do it as a mediator and guarantor of agreements that will be
achieved between the parties of the conflict’.
Turkish PM in his turn spoke for future establishment of relations
with Armenia.
He reminded that Turkey already opened Istanbul airport for flights
from Armenia. Land border is not opened yet, but its opening will
depend on process of negotiations, he added.
Prime Minister stressed that Turkey is interested in development of
relations with Armenia. L.D. –0–
*********************************************************************
RA MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND EDUCATION RECEIVES THE MINISTER OF CULTURE
AND SCIENCE OF BULGARIA
YEREVAN, January 11. /ARKA/. RA Ministry of Science and Education
Sergo Yeritsyan received a delegation headed by Igor Demyanov, the
Minister of Culture and Science of Bulgaria. The delegation has been
to Armenia with an official visit since January 9-12. According to RA
Ministry of Science and Education Press Service Department, this is
the first official visit on the part of the Ministers of Bulgaria to
Armenia.
During the meeting Yeritsyan introduced reforms in the sphere of
education introduced in Armenia to guests. The Ministers of the two
countries discussed the program on cooperation in the sphere of
science and culture signed by the two countries in 2003, as well as
aspects of cooperation that can be implemented in the nearest future.
According to the parties, the cooperation may have an impact on both
the sphere of education and science. It’s supposed that a
corresponding protocol will be signed issuing from the results of the
visit.
In the course of the visit, the delegation will meet professors and
teachers as well as students of some Universities and will be
introduced cultural and historical values of Armenia.
RA and Bulgarian Governments began cooperation in 1994. A program on
cooperation between the two countries for 2003-2006 in the field of
science and culture was signed in the framework of the above
mentioned agreement during the official visit of RA President
Kocharyan to Bulgaria on September 8 2003. A.H.-0–
*********************************************************************
ARMENIA TO SEND HUMANITARIAN AID TO SRI-LANKA POPULATION AFFECTED BY
TSUNAMI DISASTER
YEREVAN, January 11. /ARKA/. Armenia will send humanitarian aid to
the population of Sri-Lanka affected by tsunami disaster, as stated
Armen Bayburtyan, the Deputy Foreign Minister of Armenia. According
to him, it is planned to send tents and mobile energy generators to
the total sum of AMD 15 mln (about $30 thou), as well as antibiotics
and pain-relieving medicine of AMD 10 mln (about $20 thou). He also
said that it is also planned to send aid to Indonesia as well. In
addition, according to Bayburtyan, Armenian Church of Calcutta
pledged $210 thou to the Indian Government. Also, 10 citizens of
India can pass a treatment course by request in the Rehabilitation
Centre of the Armenian Red Cross. L.V. – 0–

Radio Free Europe, Czech Republic
Jan 11 2005
Ukraine’s Withdrawal Seen As Politically Important, Militarily
Insignificant
By Kathleen Moore
Ukraine says it plans to pull its 1,600 troops out of Iraq in the
first half of this year. The announcement comes after eight Ukrainian
soldiers died in an explosion at an ammunition dump in Iraq. Kyiv’s
decision follows other announcements of changes to the multinational
force in Iraq. Poland, which also has one of the largest troop
contingents in Iraq, is cutting its presence by one-third within the
next few months, while the United Kingdom says it plans to send an
extra 400 soldiers.
Prague, 11 January 2005 (RFE/RL) — “The [outgoing] president of
Ukraine [Leonid Kuchma] has ordered the defense minister and the
foreign minister to immediately begin planning for a withdrawal of
the Ukrainian contingent from Iraq in the first half of this year,”
Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksandr Kuzmuk said.
Kuzmuk said the country’s 1,600 troops could begin leaving Iraq in
March or April. The Ukrainian parliament called today for an even
quicker withdrawal.
The troop presence has been unpopular, and a withdrawal had been
expected. But the firmer timetable announced yesterday came a day
after eight Ukrainians — and one Kazakh — died in an explosion at
an Iraqi ammunition dump.
Valeriy Chaly, an analyst at Kyiv’s Razumkov Center, told RFE/RL:
“This decision wasn’t unexpected. Parliament in December adopted a
resolution that had a recommendatory character, and today we’ve seen
that confirmed with the request for the president to sign a decree on
the immediate withdrawal of the Ukrainian contingent from Iraq. Of
course, the deaths of the biggest number of Ukrainian soldiers since
the beginning of the campaign [on 9 January] provided a shocking
stimulus [to this decision]. But nonetheless — though it might sound
cynical — I would say it has a political tinge to it.”
Kuchma’s order was seen by some as an attempt to upstage the man who
is soon to replace him. Viktor Yushchenko, who won last month’s rerun
presidential election, is also in favor of withdrawing Ukrainian
troops from Iraq. Warsaw, too, has announced it is pulling one-third
of its troops out of Iraq next month, after the Iraqi elections.
Other countries withdrew last year, like Spain and the Philippines.
But there are changes in the opposite direction. The United Kingdom
announced yesterday that it will be sending more troops to Iraq —
400 of them, ahead of the 30 January elections. Georgia also
previously announced extra troops for this month. And Armenia last
month approved sending a small contingent of troops. “In a way, it
doesn’t matter enormously how many countries are there and what
they’re producing in military terms. Politically, it’s a different
matter.”
In an initial reaction to the Ukrainian move, U.S. State Department
spokesman Adam Ereli expressed condolences for the soldiers who died.
And he said a withdrawal would not detract from Ukraine’s
contribution.
“I would reject any notion that anybody is running scared in this
matter. First of all, Ukraine has courageously supported the
multinational force in Iraq. They are one of the largest contributors
of troops. They are an important partner to the coalition’s efforts.
We value their contribution, and we recognize their sacrifice,” Ereli
said.
Julian Lindley-French is a Geneva-based security analyst. He said the
Ukrainian and Polish moves will be a blow to the multinational force,
as it needs as many troops as possible to perform a “robust”
peacekeeping job.
“The Ukrainians and Poles would argue that with the elections coming
up, they’ve fulfilled their job to be present until Iraq can
reestablish its own state sovereignty. Obviously, in the real world,
the need for troops to stabilize the situation will continue. I
suspect the Poles and Ukrainians are using the increased numbers of
American and British troops as a cover to try and get out — in a
sense, trying to force the Americans and the British to keep high
levels of troops there over a longer period, which won’t go down too
well in Washington or London,” Lindley-French said.
But British defense analyst Paul Cornish told RFE/RL that such troop
reductions don’t matter much, at least in military terms. “[The
Ukrainians and Poles are] doing important policing and guarding
roles, [but] they are much less significant than the British and
Americans and those forces — and there are few of them — that can
conduct high-intensity counterinsurgency operations,” he said. “So
really, in a way, it doesn’t matter enormously how many countries are
there and what they’re producing in military terms. Politically, it’s
a different matter.”
Any final decision on the status of Ukraine’s troops may come only
when Yushchenko takes office.
A total of 16 Ukrainian troops have died in Iraq since their
deployment as part of U.S.-led coalition forces in 2003.