YEREVAN — On the occasion of the 33rd anniversary of the formation of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan visited the Ministry of Defense. The event began with a march involving military units, followed by a formal session attended by the senior military command.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Minister of Defense Suren Papikyan delivered speeches. In his address, the Prime Minister specifically mentioned:
“The government, the public, and the state must place as the sole task the defense and security of internationally recognized territories. And based on this, yes, we are carrying out deep reforms in the army, and on this basis, we will have a strong, defensible army. In this regard, no one will be able to question our right to have a defensible army, no one can question our right to have a well-being of soldiers, no one can question our right to have a strong state, a prosperous, and developed state. And for that state, I have said and want to repeat again—its key is the existence and awareness of the officer corps.”
“We must also note that, yes, the army, the Armed Forces, and in general, the officer class is the pillar, the backbone around which the state is built. Yes, it is true that we should not hide our shortcomings, but we should not hide the shortcomings of the army, nor those of the government, the public, or any specific sector.”
“It is also unfair that while everyone notices the shortcomings of the army, it is said that you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye, but do not see the log in your own. This is our direction—to see the shortcomings of the army, but also to see the connection between those shortcomings and the shortcomings of each of us, because the army does not emerge from nowhere. The army is shaped in kindergartens, schools, neighborhoods, and workplaces. Today, there is no problem or shortcoming in the army that did not originate outside of it. Such a problem does not exist. All the problems of the army were born outside the army, and although these issues may develop and transform within the army, there is no issue whose owner is the army, which we can say the army created.”
“Today marks the 33rd anniversary of our army, and in our National Security Strategy, which, of course, will be revised and transformed in the near future, we have included the army among the foremost of our state and national values. Yes, the army is a state value. For me, first and foremost, there is the Republic of Armenia, the statehood, independence, and the backbone of that statehood—the army, the armed forces, and the army and armed forces are, first and foremost, people. And people must feel valued, people must feel respected, and people must feel dignified.”