KOSOVO/KFOR DEMARCHE DELIVERED -- ARMENIANS HAPPY

C O N F I D E N T I A L YEREVAN 000217

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/25/2019
TAGS: PREL MARR NATO KPKO KV AM
SUBJECT: KOSOVO/KFOR DEMARCHE DELIVERED -- ARMENIANS HAPPY
TO SERVE IN KOSOVO

REF: A. STATE 26179

B. USDAO YEREVAN IIR 6942 0023 09

Classified By: CDA Joseph Pennington, reasons 1.4, (b,d)


1. (C) CDA conveyed an abbreviated version of reftel talking
points to Deputy Foriegn Minister Arman Kirakossian. Our
points highlighted appreciation for Armenian commitment to
Kosovo, including its recent doubling of its troop contingent
there, and signaled continued firm U.S. commitment to seing
the Kosovo mission through. CDA mentioned the need to
provide continuing security in Kosovo while Kosovo national
forces and institutions, as well as new international
institutions (EULEX) get up and running and prove themselvs.
Kirakossian agreed with our assessment, but made no
substantive comment.


2. (C) COMMENT: The Armenians show no sign of losing
committment to Kosovo -- quite the contrary, they continue to
seek credit for having doubled their KFOR contribution from
35 to 70 in recent months. Our anxiety in delivering this
demarche was that we not create the counter-productive effect
of sensitizing Armenian leaders to new currents in some
European capitals seeking to pull back from the KFOR mission
and thus perhaps make the Armenians nervous about a Kosovo
mission with which they are now quite content. On current
trends, Armenia will probably be among the last partners to
leave KFOR; they are happy with that deployment in a number
of ways. Being in KFOR gets them positive political credit
in the West, and valuable military experience operating with
NATO forces in a moderate threat environment.


3. (C) COMMENT CONTINUED: Armenia's Peacekeeping Brigade --
currently only one fully-staffed battalion with a skeleton
brigade organization still being fleshed out (see Ref B for
more on PKO brigade) -- represents the leading edge of
Western defense reform in Armenia. The unit is comprised of
fairly well-trained contract soldiers, organized and trained
toward a NATO model. The brigade's leadership is concerned
about its relative dearth of foreign PKO deployment
opportunities. Aside from the valuable experience noted
above, international deployments are a powerful recruiting
tool for the PKO brigade, as soldiers get paid a large
stipend for foreign deployment. The bonuses can make a huge
financial difference for soldiers' families in these troubled
economic times. Now that the OIF deployment in Iraq has
ended, the PKO brigade feels short of opportunities to send
its troops abroad. Armenia might be amenable -- if we asked
them -- even to increase its Kosovo troop numbers somewhat.
PENNINGTON