Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on Friday that Armenia’s options for purchasing weapons and military equipment have become “practically unlimited,” citing a shift in national security strategy focused on international legitimacy.
Speaking at the “Comprehensive Security and Resilience” international conference in Yerevan, Pashinyan said the Armenian army’s sole responsibility is the protection of the country’s internationally recognized borders.
“The Armenian army has no mission and no objectives outside the internationally recognized territory of the Republic of Armenia,” Pashinyan said. “This is what defines the legitimacy-based strategy for the armed forces.”
Pashinyan said that within just two to three years, this approach had yielded tangible results.
“Previously, Armenia’s access to weapons markets was highly restricted—not only geographically, but also in terms of availability,” he said. “Now, those markets are essentially unlimited.”
He clarified that Armenia does not seek to acquire every type of weapon, but attributed the easing of restrictions to increased international confidence in Yerevan’s defense policy.
“Because of the legitimacy strategy, no country is concerned that weapons supplied to Armenia will be used for illegitimate purposes,” he said. “No one can dispute Armenia’s right to defend its sovereign, internationally recognized territory. That is not up for debate.”
Pashinyan said the strategy had already led to expanded military-technical and political cooperation.
He also warned against overreliance on the military alone.
“If your number one tool for ensuring security is the army, that means you don’t have real security,” he said. “If we want the army to protect us, we must first protect the army. If we want the soldier to protect us, we must first protect the soldier.”
Pashinyan added that multiple layers of national security should be in place before relying on the armed forces to respond to threats.
