VZCZCXRO5008
RR RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHNP RUEHROV RUEHSL RUEHSR
DE RUEHYE #0889/01 3581013
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 241013Z DEC 09
FM AMEMBASSY YEREVAN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9896
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 YEREVAN 000889 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/17/2019 
TAGS: MARR MASS MOPS PGOV PREL AF GM AM
SUBJECT: ARMENIA TO DEPLOY PEACKEEPERS TO AFGHANISTAN IN 
2010 
 
Classified By: CDA Joseph Pennington, reason 1.4 (b,d) 
 
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SUMMARY 
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¶1. (C) After only one day of debate, on December 8 
Armenia's National Assembly (parliament) approved in 
overwhelming fashion the February 2010 deployment of up to 
80 Armenian peacekeepers to the NATO-led International 
Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan. 
Parliament's swift approval of the deployment 
contrasted dramatically with the lengthy and difficult 2004 
parliamentary debate which preceded the deployment of 
Armenian peacekeepers to Iraq.  Hrayr Karapetian, chairman 
of the parliament's Defense and National Security 
Committee, told the DATT and PolOffs that the decision to 
deploy peacekeepers to Afghanistan was an easy one, and one 
partly explained by the GOAM's on-going efforts to improve 
relations with emerging democracies in Armenia's 
neighborhood.  END SUMMARY. 
 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
SHORT DEBATE, SWIFT APPROVAL OF ISAF DEPLOYMENT 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
¶2. (C) On December 8, Armenia's parliament overwhelming 
ratified the agreement signed by Armenian Defense Minister 
Seyran Ohanian and NATO officials in November 2009 
committing Armenia to deploy between 35-80 peacekeepers to 
ISAF as part of the German contingent serving in Kunduz. 
(Comment:  Although open source press reporting cites an 
upper number of 80 troops, the Armenian MoD has repeatedly 
told us that the contingent will not exceed 40 troops.  The 
deployment will consist of three six-month rotations of 
Armenian peacekeepers, so in total approximately 120 
peacekeepers will be involved. End Comment.)  The 
overwhelming approval came after a one-day debate, in 
stark contrast with the lengthy and arduous debate in 2004 
that preceded Armenia's deployment of peacekeepers to 
Iraq. 
 
¶3. (U) During his address to parliament on December 7, 
Defense Minster Ohanian announced that, if approved, 
Armenia would dispatch a 40-person strong contingent 
comprised of an army platoon with three staff officers and 
one military medic.  "The main mission of the Armenian 
contingent," Ohanian told lawmakers, "will be to protect 
the runway and other airport facilities in the northern 
city of Kunduz." Ohanian said the peacekeepers would complete 
a 
three-week training course in Germany prior to their February 
2010 
deployment alongside the German contingent in Kunduz. 
 
¶4. (U) The deployment was backed not only by the 
pro-government ruling coalition majority in parliament, but 
also by the majority of opposition MPs from the Heritage 
party and the nationalist Armenian Revolutionary Federation 
- Dashnaktsutiun (Dashnaks).  But some in the 
opposition who supported the deployment could not resist the 
chance to take a swipe at the Armenian authorities.  Vahan 
Hovannisian, the 
leader of the Dashnak parliamentary faction, sarcastically 
noted that "the situation with democracy (in Armenia) is 
so brilliant ... that we are now going to help establish 
democracy in Afghanistan."  (Note:  Hovannisian voted for 
the deployment.  End Note.) 
 
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BENEFITS/RATIONALE OF CONTRIBUTING TO ISAF 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶5. (U) During his address to parliament, Defense Minister 
Ohanian stated that "this mission will contribute to the 
accomplishments of our national objectives. We will gain a 
stake in the formation of an international security 
system."  Ohanian also noted that neighboring Azerbaijan, 
Georgia and Turkey already have troops on the ground in 
Afghanistan. 
 
¶6. (C) On December 15, the DATT and PolOffs met with the 
Dashnak Hrayr Karapetian, the chairperson of the 
parliament's Defense, National Security, and Internal 
Affairs Committee -- and former deputy speaker of the 
parliament -- to get his take on the swift approval of the 
deployment.  Karapetian noted up front that the Dashnaks 
had vociferously opposed the 2004 deployment to Iraq, 
largely because of the Diaspora-based party's fears of 
Muslim extremist reprisals against Christian Armenians 
living in the Middle East.  He said the party had no such 
 
YEREVAN 00000889  002 OF 002 
 
 
fear this time around, with no significant Armenian 
population in Afghanistan, and that this was one of the 
reasons they lent their unanimous support to the ISAF 
deployment, and why the deployment was an easy one to 
approve for the parliament. 
 
¶7. (C) Karapetian said another factor behind the Dashnaks' 
support of the ISAF deployment was the success of 
Armenian peacekeepers in both Iraq and NATO-led peacekeeping 
operations in Kosovo, and Armenia's increased confidence in 
its peacekeeping capabilities.  Most 
importantly, he said, the political situation in Armenia's 
neighborhood has changed, with the emergence of nations 
with evolving democratic traditions.  Karapetian asserted 
that Armenia must comes to terms with these changes, and 
improve its relations and practices with such countries. 
"We know everything from the Soviet Army," Karapetian 
stated, and "we need the experience of Western countries 
and Western structures, including, for example, the 
tradition of civilian control of the military."  Karapetian 
stressed that "this is what we are pursuing in our 
relationship with NATO and our work with Western-inspired 
organizations such as the OSCE." 
 
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COMMENT 
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¶8. (C) Since asuming his post in April 2009, Defense 
Minister Ohanian has repeatedly and publicly stated that 
"Armenia must no longer be viewed only as a consumer of 
international security, but as a contributor as well." 
Under his watch, Armenia has doubled its contingent of 
peacekeepers to Kosovo and now committed to ISAF.  While 
Ohanian has played a constructive role in these 
developments, the initiators of Armenia's first 
peacekeeping contribution to Iraq and the subsequent 
contributions to Kosovo were then-Defense Minister Serzh 
Sargsian and Artur Aghabekian, Karapetian's predecessor as 
Defense Committee chairperson.  As the ISAF deployment 
illustrates, President Sargsian continues to support such 
deployments, calibrating their modest size with the need to 
preserve manpower at home in the event of renewed 
hostilities over Nagorno-Karabakh. 
 
 
PENNINGTON 
PENNINGTON