FIRST GROUP OF ARMENIAN PEACEKEEPERS RETURNED HOME FROM IRAQ

PanARMENIAN.Net - The first group of the 12th peacekeeping battalion of the Armed Forces of Armenia today returned to Yerevan from Iraq. Meeting them Deputy Defense Minister of Armenia Artur Aghabekyan stated, «I personally, as well as the whole staff of the Armed Forces of Armenia and the MOD are proud of our soldiers.» «Our peacekeepers are capable to fulfill the task they were commissioned with. They proved it and they will be awarded by the MOD,» he said. As noted by Aghabekyan, during the peacekeepers' 6-month stay in Iraq, no complaints were received from the Armenian community: on the contrary, many community members wished to visit their compatriots. In his words, 45 out of the 46 peacekeepers are home at the moment, while one of them was moved to Baghdad and appointed liaison officer of the multinational corps. When commenting on the opportunity sending a third group of peacekeepers, Aghabekyan noted the National Assembly of Armenia earlier adopted a decision on sending peacekeepers for a term of a year. The second group will return this December, and if Armenia receives an official document on continuation of the peacekeeping mission, the respective resolution will be passed. «Troops are ready to fulfill a new peacekeeping mission in any region if the Minister orders to,» Aghabekyan stated. As of the possible sending of peacekeepers to Afghanistan the Armenian Deputy Defense Minister remarked Armenia continues examining the question. However, Armenia has not received a specific proposal yet. «We should not wait for proposals. We should always be ready to fulfill peacekeeping missions the Armenia-NATO cooperation provides for,» he noted. When commenting on Lebanon's proposal on sending Armenian sappers to the country, the MOD official noted that no official proposal was received yet. Aghabekyan also reminded that IPAP Armenian Presentation Document was appreciated by the NATO and Armenia will present the Plan of Actions within the IPAP.