Hraparak daily of Armenia writes as follows, in particular: The government has put into circulation a draft to reduce the period of compulsory military service from 2 to 1.5 years, which is planned to be implemented in the Summer 2026 conscription As a justification, the draft notes that "in recent years, active steps have been taken to expand contractual military service [in Armenia] (…).”

According to our information, before circulating the draft, military personnel who have a history at the GS [i.e. the General Staff] of the AF [i.e. the Armed Forces] have warned the leadership of the MoD [i.e. the Ministry of Defense] in a special opinion that the draft contains serious dangers and risks. First, the "justification" is miles away from reality in terms of active recruitment, (…).

In addition, calculations have been presented that as a result of these changes, the number of army personnel will be reduced by 4-5 thousand over a two-year period of service, and this poses serious dangers from the point of view of combat duty. The response from the higher-ups was roughly that whoever does not want to work, let him write a letter [of resignation] and leave.

It was also said that a peace treaty is being signed [between Armenia and Azerbaijan], and in an era of peace their calculations will be thoroughly justified. (…). In fact, the demand to demilitarize the [Armenian] army has been sounding from [Azerbaijani president Ilham] Aliyev's lips for several years now, and this change not only pursues that trend, but also, over time, will call into question the existence of the Armenian army in general.