Armenia’s defense spending has significantly increased since 2023. Defense Minister Suren Papikyan stated this during the question-and-answer session with the Government, in the National Assembly of Armenia and commenting on the fact that in 2026 the country’s defense-related expenditures are to be less than in 2025.
“Since 2023, unprecedented spending has been and will be carried out, which has significantly changed our capabilities. This concerns both the needs of the army, the social conditions of servicemen, and many other issues, including the procurement of weapons and military equipment, engineering work. That is, all the work done over these years has been possible on the account of the funds allocated by our government.
That at first glance a certain imbalance is noticed between 2025 and 2026, in reality there is a clear balance there, because when we compare the budget allocated for defense spending in 2024 and the planned one for 2026, we will see that a fairly normal growth is observed between 2023, 2024, and 2026. The real imbalance here occurred in favor of the Ministry of Defense, because based on the regional developments at that time, we preferred to carry out future spending in 2025, and as a result of which, at first glance, this gap has occurred, which is by no means an unusual thing, but a natural action taken by a proper government,” Papikyan said.
