Pashinyan: Armenia lacks experience of peace, army influenced by external forces

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, delivering his closing remarks during a discussion on the draft law “On the State Budget of the Republic of Armenia for 2026” in the National Assembly, said that Armenia “has been in the pocket of a specific country regarding the Nagorno-Karabakh issue.”

Speaking about the army’s condition, Pashinyan noted that in 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, and up until 2022, the social and psychological state and mindset of Armenia’s military were influenced by external factors. “Our army had no centre of sovereign will,” he added, Caliber.Az reports..

He further stated that Armenia does not know and has no experience of what peace truly means. “And we say that peace is when we have no casualties for a year and eight months,” the Prime Minister said.

Pashinyan also addressed concerns over Armenia’s rising external debt, explaining that the increase is linked to arms purchases. “We are criticised, asking why the debt rose to $8 billion and what we did with these funds. I did not want to say it, but I will — we bought weapons. On credit? Yes, on credit, because a lot of weapons were needed, and quickly,” he said.

By Vugar Khalilov