Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan marked the 34th anniversary of the nation’s armed forces by emphasizing that peace with Azerbaijan represents Armenia’s “most reliable” guarantee of security. He stressed that Armenia is not preparing for war, highlighting that the normalization of relations between Yerevan and Baku ensures stability and safeguards the country’s sovereignty.
Pashinyan noted ongoing efforts to strengthen the military through significant investments and the acquisition of modern weaponry, while recalling that international partners had previously “politely refused” to sell arms due to concerns over deployment outside Armenia’s internationally recognized borders and the potential exposure of technical secrets to the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). He stated that CSTO partners failed to fulfill contractual obligations in 2022, withholding hundreds of millions of dollars in weaponry already paid for, posing an “existential threat” to Armenia.
The premier highlighted that the October 2022 Prague agreement, which reaffirmed the territorial integrity of both Armenia and Azerbaijan under the 1991 Alma-Ata Declaration, resolved these security concerns and led Yerevan to freeze its CSTO membership. He confirmed that the Armenian army’s sole mission is defending its internationally recognized territory and that border disputes will be addressed through joint delimitation commissions. Social reforms in the military, including reducing compulsory service from 24 to 18 months and transitioning to a professional army, were also noted as part of the ongoing modernization efforts.
