Any citizen of the Republic of Armenia registered in the reserve must participate in the military training camps, and those returning from Russia or other countries are obliged to fulfill their duty. Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Armenia, Edward Asryan, told this to reporters Tuesday, commenting on the scandalous reports that the Military Police officers at the Yerevan international airport are engaged in forcibly sending Armenian citizens arriving from Russia to military training camps.

Asryan categorically denied the accusations of opposition activists that the Armenian authorities have turned the army into a punitive instrument against their opponents. Asryan said that since 2023, tens of thousands of reservists have already passed the planned three-month training camps, and this process is purely legal.

“If a citizen is the owner of a passport of the Republic of Armenia, but thinks that he can come here for just one event, for one day, and immediately leave, then that person is acting wrongly,” noted Edward Asryan.

Thus, the chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Armenia answered questions about the targeted conscription of specific individuals.

According to Asryan, the Military Police officers at the Yerevan international airport solely carry out their standard functions: escorting and protection. He said that everyone is equal before the law, regardless of their place of residence. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Armenia is guided only by the registration lists of conscripts, therefore, reservists are obliged to unconditionally report to the military commissariat with notices, he added.