FIFTH ARMENIAN SHIFT OF PEACEKEEPERS TO LEAVE FOR IRAQ IN MID-JANUARY

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 29, ARMENPRESS: The fifth shift of a small non-combat Armenian peacekeeping contingent will fly to Iraq in mid-January next year, a spokesperson for the Armenian defense ministry said, adding that the date of the fourth shift’s return will become clear after the New Year holidays.
The spokesperson Seyran Shahsuvarian said the platoon comprises 30 truck drivers, 10 sappers, 3 medics and two officers.
When asking in early December the Armenian parliament to extend the presence of the Armenian contingent in Iraq for another year defense minister Serzh Sarkisian said the peacekeeping mission in Iraq promotes enhancement of international standing of Armenia and its armed forces.
He said Armenia could not stay aside of international integration processes in defense, adding that the participation of the Armenian contingent in the peacekeeping mission in Iraq provides additional levers for protecting national interests in relations with international organizations.
Sarkisian argued that Armenia’s two other South Caucasus neighbors Azerbaijan and Georgia have 151 and 864 servicemen in Iraq respectively, but ‘unlike Azerbaijan and Georgia, Armenian troops are non-combat and do not participate in military actions’.