WASHINGTON, Oct. 27 -- Russia and the United States will each contribute several thousand personnel to a multinational special operations unit in the Balkans, Defense Secretary William Perry said Friday. Perry said the Russian unit will not be part of the NATO peacekeeping force, but will perform special engineering, transport and construction activites called for under a peace agreement.
'I am pleased to tell you that we have reached an agreement, Perry said while visiting Fort Riley, Kansas, with his Russian counterpart Gen. Pavel Grachev. 'Our presidents wanted us to agree to this as a minimum, and we did, ' Perry said. 'We also discussed additional Russian participation in the security force that will implement the military aspects of the peace agreement in Bosnia.' Perry and Grachev met Thursday to discuss Moscow's participation in a NATO-led force if a peace agreement is reached. But Perry said a gap between Russia and the alliance 'is not completely closed.' Perry said he and Grachev share the same goal, bringing Russia into the international effort to enforce a settlement that could end the 3 1/2-year-old war in Bosnia and bring long-term stability to the former Yugoslavia. Friday's announcement of what is currently dubbed the 'Special Operations Unit' is the first step in bridging the gap. 'This shows the ability of Russia and the United States to work together for world peace and stability,' Perry said. The special unit will go into action about one month after the NATO peacekeeping force deploys to Bosnia-Herzegovina. It will be under the command of Gen. Joulwan and a Russian deputy, Col.-Gen. Shevtsov. Perry said he will continue to discuss Russian participation in the NATO peacekeeping force when he and Grachev meet in Brussels at the end of November.
