Gasic to visit Serbian peacekeepers in Cyprus, Lebanon

BELGRADE - Serbian Defence Minister Bratislav Gasic will on August 22-24 visit the Serbian Armed Forces troops deployed in the United Nations peacekeeping operations in Cyprus and Lebanon, the Ministry of Defence said on Thursday.

While in Cyprus, Gasic will meet with the country's Defence Minister Christoforos Fokaides, Lisa Buttenheim, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General and Head of the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP), as well as with UNFICYP Force Commander Maj. Gen. Kristin Lund.

Gasic will also visit the Serbian Armed Forces troops at the Stefan Nemanja Base in Cyprus.

During the visit to Lebanon, Gasic is to meet with Maj. Gen. Luciano Portolano, Force Commander and Head of Mission of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), and Brig. Gen. Andres Chapa Huidobro, Commander of UNIFIL Sector East, and will also speak to Serbian Armed Forces troops deployed in the mission.

The Serbian Armed Forces currently have 46 troops in the UNFICYP mission in Cyprus, including 37 in an infantry platoon.

The Serbian Armed Forces also have an infantry company and a total of 143 troops in the UNFIL mission in Lebanon - more than in any other multinational operation.

Photo Tanjug/N. Jovanovic (archive)