ArmInfo. In a few months, the governance system in Armenia will completely change, and the reforms in the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia should also be consonant with this. Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan stated in an interview with "Armenia" TV channel.
He noted that the RA Armed Forces were constantly modernized, replenished with new equipment, reformed, but the forthcoming transformations will be deeper, aimed at the future. "We should not proceed from how much we can invest in the Armed Forces, but how much to invest." The strategy philosophy has changed," the head of state said, stressing that the army for a long time managed with what was allocated to it, meanwhile, now it is necessary to do more, and there are means for this.
Referring to the Global Military index, according to which Armenia is recognized as the three most militarized state in the world, Sargsyan noted: "First, our omission is that immediately after the appearance of such information we do not conduct explanatory work among the public. Such ratings are guided by different criteria, sometimes not entirely real. This rating was compiled taking into account the unit of military equipment coming per capita. In other conditions, it is unlikely that there would be a need to maintain such an army in a three-million state, but this path was imposed on us, this is the minimum that ensures our security. And April 2016 showed that we do not allow ourselves excesses in this regard. On the one hand, we are accused of being inferior to Azerbaijan in terms of armed equipment, on the other, we are accused of being a militarized state. How is this to be understood?"
Speaking about the sensational law on the status of servicemen and military duty, which provides for the cancellation of deferment from military service for students and entrants, Sargsyan stated that studying in a university should not become a method of evading military service. At the same time, he assured that especially talented young people will still have the opportunity not to serve in the army and develop their talent. "But we must be sure that these are really talented people," the president said. In addition, he said, the new system allows you to exclude corruption and protectionism when calling in the Armed Forces. "Previously, we were accused that young people from well-off families used the deferral system, and this really took place, now the new system will exclude such a possibility, as everyone will be called upon whose state of health it allows to serve in the army," the president said. This is the prevailing view that the new system will negatively affect the quality of higher education. According to the president, after the introduction of the new system of conscription, the quality of higher education, on the contrary, will improve. The President also negatively commented on the sounding proposals on the need to limit the ability of individuals who did not serve in the army to receive high state debts. "I am absolutely against this, this is a violation of human rights and the laws of the country.If we have been given the opportunity to not serve in the army in accordance with the law, now we can not infringe on his rights because of this. army for health reasons, are they guilty of this and should be deprived of the opportunity for career advancement because of this?" summed up the head of state.