Armenian peacekeepers not going to Afghanistan yet

PanARMENIAN.Net - Decision on enlarging the composition of Armenian peacekeeping battalions in Iraq and Kosovo has not been taken yet, colonel general Seyran Ohanyan, the Chief of the RA Armed Forces General Staff told reporters today. There is no decision on sending Armenian officers and physicians to Afghanistan either, he added.



"As to the officer injured in Iraq, his health state is described as good and he will return to Armenia soon," he said.



Earlier, head of International Cooperation and Defense Programs Department at the Armenian Defense Ministry, major general Mikael Melkonyan said that Armenian officers and physicians will depart for Afghanistan with a peacekeeping mission. As this is a new field for us, our assistance will be exclusively humanitarian. The main point here is an agreement with partners and provision of documentation," Melkonyan said.



According to the RA Constitution the issue of sending peacekeepers demands signing of an appropriate agreement, a special procedure in the Constitutional Court and approval by the parliament, he added.