Russia and China Send Peacekeepers to Africa
Sudan has agreed to a 23,000-member peacekeeping force from the United Nations and African Union in Darfur a peace conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Between 17,600 and 19,500 peacekeepers and about 3800 police will be dispatched to Sudan, where 400,000 people have died and 2 million made refugees.
The West has been pressing for a peacekeeping contingent in Darfur since 2003, after rumors of huge oil reserves there began circulating. Last year, threats of sanctions began. Sudanese President Omar Bashir allowed 7000 African peacekeepers in in 2004, but they were poorly equipped and unable to stop the bloodbath there.
Russia and China may provide the UN with the needed peacekeepers. Head of UN peacekeeping operations in Africa Dmitry Titov stated that the UN will look for peacekeepers in Africa first, and then turn to third countries that are ready to provide troops.
Beijing has shown the greatest willingness so far. That is unsurprising, since Chinese oil companies have concluded multibillion-dollar contracts with Sudan. Chinese President Hu Jintao offered a full Chinese peacekeeping mission when he visited Khartoum in February. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also offered a full Russian mission in recent months. Russia's interest in Sudan is connected to the arms trade.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of June 14, 2007
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