In War, the Issue Was the Non-Combat Readiness of Reservists: Suren Papikyan

During a speech in the National Assembly, Defense Minister Suren Papikyan stated that the main mission of the Armed Forces is to ensure their combat readiness, rather than solely focusing on combat duty. He noted that for many years, significant attention has been paid to duty, which is important, but it is equally necessary for the main body of the army to engage in combat preparation and capability enhancement.

Papikyan mentioned that the purpose of training gatherings is to form a trained reserve that can supplement the army and become a crucial part of it when needed. He recalled that during the 44-day war, one of the main issues facing the army was the non-combat readiness of the reservists, emphasizing that the responsibility for this is collective, as insufficient attention has been paid to the reserves over the years.

The minister pointed out that there are cases where a 45-year-old individual has never participated in training gatherings, which he deemed an abnormal situation. Plans are in place to engage 20,000 reservists in training gatherings by 2026, while that number was 16,000 in 2025.