It has to do with planning and the resources of the state budget. This is what Deputy Minister of Defense Gabriel Balayan told journalists at the National Assembly on 22 March, touching upon the rejection of the bill presented the Prosperous Armenia Party to only have contract military servicemen serve on the border.

Balayan recalled that the government had approved the draft amendments to the law on military service and the status of serviceman during its session yesterday.

“The government is trying to engage a larger number of contract military servicemen by moving the age limit from 36 to 40 since there are a lot of applications,” he said.

Touching upon Minister of Defense Davit Tonoyan’s statement that the Ministry of Defense is currently considering reducing the 24-month term of compulsory military servicemen included in combat duty and increasing the term of service of servicemen not included in combat duty, Balayan said that he couldn’t state specific time limits because the issue is under consideration.

“I can only say that before this, the defense minister had declared that only healthy compulsory military servicemen should serve on the frontline, and this is the first step in the context of the discussions. We’re going to try to create opportunities for healthy servicemen to serve for a shorter period and fulfill their combat objectives and for servicemen with restrictions, but fit for military service to perform other functions, but for a period that will be a little longer than that of the servicemen on the frontline,” Balayan said.