MOSCOW, December 23 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's upper house of parliament will consider the Russian president's proposal December 27 to send Russian servicemen on a UN peacekeeping mission to Sudan until late March 2006, the chairman of the Federation Council committee for defense and security said Friday.
"The Russian leader has sent the Federation Council speaker a letter with the request from the UN Secretary General to deploy Russian peacekeepers to Sudan," Viktor Ozerov said.
The presidential press service said Wednesday that President Vladimir Putin's proposal complies with the constitution and federal law.
"In accordance with UN Security Council resolution 1590 of March 24, 2005, international peacekeepers could be sent to the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMS)," the president said in his letter. UN Security Council resolution 1627 of September 23, 2005 prolonged the UNMS mandate to six months.
"At the request of the UN Secretary General, it is proposed to send four Mi-8MT combat helicopters carrying weapons, ammunition, military equipment and other essentials to Sudan," the president said.
According to Putin, the Russian contingent will be directly subordinate to the UNMS Commander.
If the UN Security Council prolongs the peacekeeping operation, the Russian military contingent may stay in Sudan for a longer period if the extension would be in Russian interests, Putin said.
The Kremlin press service said Putin had appointed Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Valery Loshchinin and Army General Vladimir Mikhailov, commander-in-chief of the Air Force, his official representatives at the Federation Council while the proposal is being reviewed.
Russian peacekeepers are currently participating in UN missions in Kosovo, Haiti, West Sahara, Liberia, Cote d'Ivoire, Congo, Sierra Leone, Burundi, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Middle East and Georgia, a Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman said.
