Russia offers peacekeepers for Golan Heights

Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting in the Kremlin in Moscow, Friday, June 7, 2013. (AP Photo/RIA-Novosti, Alexei Nikolsky, Presidential Press Service)


"Naturally, that will happen only if the regional powers show interest in our proposal and if the U.N. secretary-general asks us to do that," Putin said, adding that Ban Ki-moon had personally asked him to increase Russia's participation in U.N. peacekeeping operations during a visit to Russia last month.

Putin's offer was quickly turned down, however, by Josephine Guerrero, spokesperson for the U.N. peacekeeping department. She said that while the offer was appreciated, the disengagement agreement and accompanying protocol do not allow the participation of troops from a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council.

Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin told reporters at U.N. headquarters in New York that he raised Putin's offer during Security Council consultations on the U.N. force, known as UNDOF, which has been caught up in the spillover of fighting between government and opposition fighters in Syria, including being the target of three hostage-takings by rebel fighters.

"Obviously we are aware of that document, but we believe that times have changed," Churkin said. "The document was signed 39 years ago at the height of Cold War and the whole context of the war of 1973. Now the context is completely different."

Churkin said council members agreed that Syria and Israel would have to approve a Russian deployment. He added that U.N. legal experts would also examine whether the council might have to adopt a resolution if the Russian offer moves forward.




UNDOF "seems to be in dire straits," Churkin said. "We are offering essentially to rescue UNDOF, but of course that problem needs to be sorted out."

He said Russia is waiting to see the reaction from Syria and Israel and will likely consult with the other permanent members of the council - the U.S., China, Britain and France - "because they are also mentioned in the protocols."

Britain's U.N. Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant, the current Security Council president, said "it's good" that Russia made the offer, which was welcomed by some council members. The peacekeeping department "will need to take that offer alongside offers from other potential troop contributors," he said.

The peacekeeping department "appeared confident that there will be offers from other troop contributing countries, and including some existing troop contributing countries," Lyall Grant said.


