Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan visited the Ministry of Defense on the occasion of the 31st anniversary of the formation of the Armed Forces of Armenia, where a consultation took place with the participation of the top officers of the Armed Forces.

Secretary of the Security Council Armen Grigoryan, Minister of Defense Suren Papikyan, Minister of Internal Affairs Vahe Ghazaryan, First Deputy Minister of Defense, Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, Major General Edward Asryan, Chairman of the Standing Committee on Defense and Security of the National Assembly Andranik Kocharyan, Director of National Security Service Armen Abazyan and other officials were also present at the consultation.

At the beginning of the consultation, the state flag of the Republic of Armenia, the battle flag of the Armed Forces and the Holy Ashot Yerkat flag - Guardian of the Armenian Army - were brought to the hall, after which the Armenian national anthem was performed. After that, the attendees observed a minute of silence in memory of the soldiers who died as a result of the tragic incident that happened on January 19 in Gegharkunik region.

Defense Minister Suren Papikyan made a speech first, then Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan addressed the audience. In his speech, the Prime Minister noted,

"Dear Minister of Defense,
First Deputy Minister of Defense, Chief of the General Staff,
Dear members of the Security Council,
Gentlemen generals and officers,
Dear attendees,

I congratulate all of us on the occasion of the 31st anniversary of the formation of our army and first of all I want to wish all of us knowledge-based will. Analyzing the history of 31 years, we must record that the qualitative link between the army and the state is very direct. This link should compel us to make the development of the quality of the army and the state our daily work. But for this we have to face some problems. Sometimes, it seems to many people that we are completely immersed in problems. This is not the reality, even if we have delved into these problems, we have not faced them. I think that we should start right from here because all our actions should be based on knowledge and cognition. We must recognize the essence of our problems, all our failures and all our achievements.

In this regard, I want to emphasize and also share with you our views. The army is primarily based on the institution of the officer. We must record one thing that the reputation of officer rank and officer work are related to state security. An officer cannot fail to ensure the well-being of his own family. We have to record this at the first place, because the officer is the pillar of the state, and this refers to army officer, a special services officer, a police officer. This is where all our problems begin, because it seemed to us that we can ensure the security of the state by leaving the officer to hardly make ends meet.

In the Republic of Armenia, the well-being of an officer's family must be ensured. This is our tactical goal and we will be guided by this task. But being an officer should mean carrying special qualities, being an officer should mean realizing the special mission and mastering professional, special skills. These realities must be closely related. And we put this formula in the context of the reforms of the Armed Forces. The officer's professional knowledge, skill and well-being of his family, starting from the social security system, the housing security system, continuing with the educational opportunities of their family members, children, because we must understand that when a person serves the Motherland in the status of an officer, he spends less time than usual with his family. We must face these problems and make sure that this reality does not have a negative impact on the welfare of the family and the future fate and education of children. The state should stand by the officer's side here, I repeat, at the same time, not making any compromises in terms of the officer's quality characteristics.

Next come the professional abilities and skills of the soldier. the same standards should apply here as well, in a slightly different dimension. We believe that the process that we have started in the Armed Forces will lead to the fulfillment of our tasks.

In general, I must record that military service is, of course, first of all discipline, starting with me and ending with all of us. We should think about our model of patriotism. We have to finally give up “in-house” patriotism, when the words and the reality are miles away from each other. We are still facing this problem today. And this is one of the fundamental problems that we must eventually be able to solve.

There are female servicemen present in the hall, I want to specially emphasize their service and presence. We must increase the degree of involvement of women in the Armed Forces, including and especially in the field of combat service. And this is our next important direction in the reform of the Armed Forces.

Also, one of our biggest problems has been that we have not realized that the army itself cannot fulfill alone the task of providing security if it does not have continuity. In this regard, I would like to highlight the reforms that we have initiated in terms of management or training of reservists. We have had several consultations, and I have emphasized that the combat readiness we have in the army, among the servicemen, should be transferred to the reservists. And the combat readiness of officers and servicemen in military service in the army must be raised to a new quality, which in many cases is even unknown to us. If we solve these problems, we will have a new situation, and we must consistently go this way.

I also want to emphasize the establishment of militia army as an institution. It's also very popular now and it's not bad, these days many volunteers, various organizations support us. I want to thank them for that, but on the other hand I must emphasize that there cannot be armies in the country, there can be an army in the country. And all those who provide this kind of service, for which we are grateful, must unequivocally fit into the vertical structure of army, and there can be no alternative and no compromise, I want us to understand this very clearly.

The military also operates according to the opportunities that the economy creates. And here, too, I want to see the link, because we are carrying out reforms in the army, acquiring weapons to the extent that the state budget allows. And the state budget is generated at the expense of the activities of businessmen and the taxes paid by them.

In 2023, we increased defense spending by 113 percent compared to 2018. Part of those expenses will go to the social security of servicemen, salary increase, another part to the acquisition of weapons and equipment, another part to engineering works, etc. And I also want to thank all the people in this hall who are engaged in economic activities and pay taxes to the state in accordance with the law. In general and including in the field of security, it is very important to be able to change people's perception of paying taxes, because I repeat again, the perception that the state takes that money from people in the form of a tax is wrong. No, when a person, a citizen, pays taxes, he transfers the money from his right pocket to his left pocket, or vice versa, because the security of the country and the construction of roads, schools, etc. is ensured at the expense of the taxes. No one will build a road for himself, no one will provide security for himself, no one will provide a legal system for himself, and in this regard, it is very important to build these relations correctly, first of all on the ideological level.

We need a strong and professional army with a strong spirit, strong knowledge, strong intellect, strong mastery of modern technology. However, I want to repeat again that we need the army not for war, but for peace, because the reforms of the Armed Forces are first of all important for us to advance the peace agenda adopted by the government. We must not deviate from that agenda and consistently advance the peace agenda.

And finally, I want to thank all our officers, generals, soldiers, privates, civil servants who provide honest and selfless service to the Motherland. We are going through a very difficult path, and how we will go through that path depends on us, solely on us and our will, our faith, our dedication, our honesty.

I wish everyone success and once again thank all those who serve not only and not so much because of their job responsibilities, but also bacause of soul, heart, faith and mission awareness.

I thank you all and congratulate all of you on the occasion of the 31st anniversary of the Armenian Army."

During the meeting-consultation, the best military units and divisions based on the results of the 2022 academic year were presented. In the near future, the ceremonies of handing over the flags of honor to the latter will take place. The event ended with the performance of the anthem of the Armed Forces of Armenia.