About 300 Russian Personnel Participate in Balkan Peacemaking Missions

The Ministry of Interior of Russia is participating in three peacemaking missions in Kosovo, East Timor (5 servicemen) and Bosnia and Gertsegovina (38 servicemen). This is according to the statement made by Boris Shtokolov, the Director of the Agency for International Cooperation of the ministry, at the conference on the 10th anniversary of Russia's participation of US and OSCE missions. Mr. Shtokolov said 100 personnel from the Ministry of Interior and 30 servicemen from Federal Border Guards were engaged in UN missions. There are 100 more servicemen in reserve. Servicemen from the Ministry of Defence, he said, also have been taking part in the peacemaking operations. This is because after NATO's military operation in Yugoslavia there has been a need for a sharply increased presence of the international police force in the autonomous area. The participation of Russia's peacemakers in other such operations, in Congo for once, is under consideration.