Only Contract Soldiers Should Be on the Front Lines: New Bill by BHK

The National Assembly faction of the “Prosperous Armenia” party has introduced an amendment to the "Military Service and Status of Servicemen" law, proposing that 18-year-old youths should not be deployed on combat duty or sent to the front lines immediately after enlisting.

“Combat duty on the front lines should be performed by contract, experienced soldiers who understand what it means to be at the front line, where enemy positions are just a few hundred meters away,” said BHK deputy Naira Zohrabyan.

“Only after one year of military experience should a soldier be allowed to perform combat duties. This is our principled stance.

It is unacceptable to place an inexperienced 18-year-old in a frontline position,” she added.

“Of course, there is also another important aspect of the issue: the salaries of contract soldiers. With a salary of 120,000-130,000 drams, you cannot ensure enough contract soldiers to address all issues at the front line. I believe it is possible to find financial resources to increase the salaries of contract soldiers, and this must be done urgently. Yesterday, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan suggested increasing salaries in the armed forces by 10 percent on his Facebook page,” reported Naira Zohrabyan.