Mortality rate in the army should be reduced in every way, albeit it’s impossible to completely do away with it. 

The Minister of Defense of Armenia, Davit Tonoyan, on Friday stated the above-said at a meeting with the Armenian community in New York, the Voice of America Armenian Service reported.

“For purely economic reasons, it’s impossible to bring it to the point that such things [mortality in the army] don’t happen,” he said.

Tonoyan stressed that it is important to fight against criminal conduct within the armed forces.

Also, the minister spoke in favor of expanding the role of women in the army.

As for the Armenian diaspora’s part—and primarily in the form of donations—in the programs being implemented in the army, Davit Tonoyan highlighted as follows: “The most unwelcome thing in the armed forces is donation issues. They teach us—the military—not to beg, not to be afraid.”