YEREVAN, OCTOBER 6, ARMENPRESS. The United Nations itself asked and urged Armenia to expand its engagement in peacekeeping missions considering the discipline and professional skills of the Armed Forces of Armenia. The Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations at the United Nations, Edmond Mulet, told “Armenpress”. “We need the support of Armenia to realize our mandate and for effectiveness of our operations”, the official added.

He hailed the announcement of the President of Armenia at UN Summit on peacekeeping operations, according to which Armenia intends to strengthen its peacekeeping forces and expand its activities in peacekeeping operations. “Armenia’s support is important not only for its contribution but also for the Armenian history and the challenges overcome during it”, the UN representative stressed.

Referring to the question “In which fields the trained Armenian peacekeeping units can implement peacekeeping missions”, Edmond Mulet mentioned, “The President announced about the second-level hospital, which is an important contribution. It requires technical support, medical staff and medical equipments, which are expensive. We also deploy more and more troops in areas where demining units are required for discovering and dismantling explosive devices. Armenia has offered to do it either. We also permanently need helicopters, but I believe Armenia cannot provide helicopters, instead, it can provide units of engineers communication specialists”. According to the UN official, the support can have different forms, from armed units to alternative ones. “For instance, an opinion is circulated that Armenia is turning into a training centre, hence, training of peacekeeping units will be also a great support”, Edmond Mulet said.