The concept of a "strong army" has always been a fundamental principle in the history of Armenia, said Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan at the "Comprehensive Security and Resilience 2025" international conference, APA reports.
"We have always said: we need a strong army. But this is also a moment when we must ask ourselves: What does a "strong army" mean? Does it mean an army with allies or without allies? If it is with allies, a number of questions arise. If it is without allies, questions still arise. Now, looking back, I understand that it is a vital necessity to clarify the concepts. The main question is: what task does the Armenian state, the Republic of Armenia, set for its army?", Pashinyan said.
According to him, the army of the Republic of Armenia does not have any tasks or functions outside its internationally recognized borders: “The task of the army is to ensure the defense of the internationally recognized territories of the Republic of Armenia. There is another important point here. Our army has always been presented to us as the first barrier and the main pillar of security. To put it mildly, the first. In fact, both the first, second, third, and fourth. I once said: we never thought about what an unbearable burden we have placed on the shoulders of our soldiers. Unfortunately, later we realized: if the main tool for ensuring security is only the army, then there is no security. If the main tool for security is the army, it is better not to use this formula at all. It should be said: there is no security at all. Because what does a “strong army” mean? I ask again: stronger than whom? How many potential enemies? What GDP and population? How many countries with a population of hundreds of millions and a GDP hundreds of times higher than ours? The point is precisely in setting the task correctly. This is a situation where we usually say: “After all, this is obvious. Who doesn’t know this?” – No, it is not obvious at all. I will go further and say: the army should not be the second, third, fourth, or fifth security instrument. The army should be the last. The work should be organized in such a way that the army is in 15th, 20th, 50th, or 100th place. This does not mean diminishing the role of the army.”
The Armenian Prime Minister also touched upon the claims of the “opposition that they did this at the request of Azerbaijan and Türkiye”: “The opposition says that this humiliates us. Let me say: this is the result of a misunderstanding of the basic layers, levels and concepts of the concept of “security”. Today, many do not understand why we make decisions that are not welcomed, at least not in the short term. For a simple reason: our goal is not to ensure security “for today”, but to make decisions so that in ten years there will be no more explosions and we will not sit back and smoke and say: “Look, we warned you”. Our goal is to make decisions so that the security of our country, which has legal, recognized borders, is ensured not only today, but for hundreds of years. Let them call us “traitors” today, but as a result of the steps we take today, the Republic of Armenia will remain a state in 50, 100, 150 years. Two years ago "I used to ask this question. Now I no longer ask this question, I declare this: this is how it will be. And above all, thanks to the strategy of legitimacy."
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