The Goal is Not to Have a 'Toothless Army,' Says Deputy Minister of Defense

Our goal is not to have a toothless army, but merely to establish that the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia are not being created for aggressive purposes. This was stated today by the Deputy Minister of Defense Arman Sargsyan during a session of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Defense and Security.

In response to the observation by Gegham Manukyan, a member of the 'Armenia' faction, regarding the government’s 2021-2026 action plan, which states that the armed forces will develop and transform not for aggression, but for protection against aggression, the Deputy Minister pointed out that even if this formulation had not been officially enshrined in the past, the goal of the Armed Forces of Armenia has never been aggression.

“However, defense also includes counterattacks and so on. We must affirm that the purpose of the Armed Forces of Armenia is not to provoke war, nor to display aggression towards its neighbors,” he stated. “There can be no talk of being toothless. Naturally, the state is doing everything to ensure that our Armed Forces are combat-ready and capable of responding with all available means.”

It is noteworthy that in 2021, by the decision of the Prime Minister, an interdepartmental commission for reforms in the armed forces was established, which developed the concept of reforms in the Armed Forces of Armenia and the timeline for its implementation. However, on February 9, the Minister of Defense Suren Papikyan announced that he did not accept the version of the concept presented to him and had sent it for editing.