RUSSIA PREPARES TO PLAY PROACTIVE PEACEKEEPING ROLE
RIA Novosti
MOSCOW, April 26 (RIA Novosti) - Following a visit to the 15th detached mechanized-infantry peacekeeping brigade, which is deployed outside Samara (Volga area), Peter Williams, the head of NATO liaison office in Moscow, said the level of the combat training and equipment of Russia's first specialized peacekeeping force met the highest world standards. In the general's opinion, the Russian military's achievements within such a short time (the brigade was formed in February 2005) testify to Russia's desire to play a proactive role in peacekeeping operations, Izvestia writes.
The brigade will operate in Transdnestr, Abkhazia and South Ossetia (self-proclaimed republics in Moldova and Georgia respectively), Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov says. If necessary, the peacekeepers may be also dispatched to other regions.
The brigade differs from ordinary units in composition and armaments (the peacekeepers are not allowed to use heavy arms: tanks and artillery), while it will completely consist of contract soldiers and warrant officers.
The military says it is Russia's first highly mobile unit. An airfield, from which personnel and combat equipment may be airlifted to any point in the word, is located near the brigade's deployment area.
Valery Yevnevich, deputy commander in chief of the ground troops for peacekeeping forces, says the brigade will become combat ready by early 2006. From that moment, the brigade will be considered ready for immediate use.
For the time being, the peacekeepers' main objective is to achieve operational compatibility with similar NATO units. This means solving some technical issues and, most importantly, ensuring that staff officers can think in the same categories in planning joint operations, and speak the same language, English, with Western colleagues. The same requirement will be made on soldiers and warrant officers.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
