The situation in Kosovo could offer an opportunity for the Defence Forces as part of Partnership for Peace, the Minister for Defence, Mr Smith, said yesterday.
He was speaking at Custume Barracks, Athlone, at a reviewing parade for 500 troops bound for UNIFIL duties in the Lebanon. PfP, the Minister said, was part of a "voluntaristic framework" tailored to meet the needs of individual member-states.
It was the first time a review of troops bound for Lebanon was held outside Dublin.
The Minister said that Ireland joining the PfP was a logical extension of the State's foreign policy. It was not a departure or aberration from the independent foreign policy tradition.
Asked about Kosovo, the Minister said they had been looking at alternative opportunities for the Defence Forces in the near future "one way or the other".
The Defence Forces would not look forward to going to Kosovo as an opportunity but would look forward to the international community supporting a resolution of the problem by a trained and experienced peacekeeping force.
"We are one of the prime countries," the Minister said, saying Ireland had more than 40 years of peacekeeping experience. He added that the Army would not be found wanting in resources or volunteers for such peacekeeping duties.
It was announced yesterday that four Army officers are to travel to the Macedonian-Albanian border as part of the GOAL relief effort.