“Mr. Sargsyan, you have not fully convinced me: serving in the RA Armed Forces is not only a duty but also a mission” - Vilén Gabrielyan

It’s one thing for work to be work and friendship to be friendship, but here, Mr. Sargsyan, you have not fully convinced me,” said Vilén Gabrielyan, addressing the author of the draft law on amendments to the Law on Military Service and the Status of Servicemen, Hayk Sargsyan, during a discussion at the National Assembly's Defense Committee.

“We say that since the law has loopholes and people are taking advantage of those loopholes, let’s legalize those loopholes instead of correcting them so that people do not have the opportunity to evade mandatory service,” he stated.

It is noteworthy that the proposal suggests that male citizens who are between the ages of 27 and 37 and have not served in the army can be exempted from mandatory military service by paying 2.5 million drams into the state budget.

According to Gabrielyan, it is logical to resolve the issue for individuals over 27 years old who have criminal cases pending and wish to return to Armenia. “I am in favor of giving these people the opportunity to return to Armenia under certain conditions, not through amnesty, so they come to solve their issues and then flee from here,” he said. “But here, Mr. Sargsyan, you have not fully convinced me. I will vote in favor of this proposal, but let’s work on it from the first to the second reading to see whether your fifth point is indeed a final assertion or whether we should maintain the philosophical rationale that serving in the RA Armed Forces is not only a duty for male citizens of Armenia, but also a mission,” he concluded.