This Decision Could Affect Ratings and Votes, Says Civil Contract MP

Every option is being discussed. This is how Civil Contract MP Arman Khachatryan responded to the query about the potential cancellation of the draft law on "freeing from military service with money."

“Discussions around the draft are taking longer, and that’s good because this is an important proposal that needs to be subjected to detailed substantive discussion. Every option is on the table; we could discuss changing it, or we could discuss that it has no future,” Khachatryan said.

According to him, the draft will not be accepted until all concerns are addressed and a positive public opinion is formed. He noted that the main misunderstandings are psychological.

“If we look purely mathematically, the law will improve the material condition of the army, increase the recruitment resources, and raise the salaries of contract soldiers. But we have a problem with value perception,” he stated.

Khachatryan assured that if the draft is sufficiently refined, the authorities would not shy away from adopting it before the 2026 elections, although it may affect their ratings and votes.

It is worth recalling that the draft law on military service proposes mandatory military service of just 1 month with a payment of 24 million drams or mandatory military service of 4 months with a payment of 18 million drams. A state fee of 15 million drams will be imposed for renouncing Armenian citizenship before reaching the age of 16. The maximum age limit for entering military service will be set at 32 years. This proposal was made by Civil Contract MP Hayk Sargsyan. The draft received a positive conclusion from the government on May 22 and will soon be presented to the National Assembly for discussion.