Why are we cutting defense spending?: David Ananyan 

ArmInfo.It is perplexing that today, when practically all states, including our unfriendly neighbors, are constantly increasing their military spending, Armenia  is moving in the opposite direction. Economist and former head of the  RA State Revenue Committee, David Ananyan, shared his concerns about  the planned defense budget cuts.

According to the economist, the comparable figures for the current  and next years in the defense sector are more than alarming.  Specifically, while the funding allocated to the Ministry of Defense  for 2025 is 664.6 billion AMD, in the draft state budget for 2026,  this figure has been reduced to 563.1 billion AMD.  The decrease was  more than 101.5 billion AMD.

Specifically, while 1.07 billion drams are planned to be allocated  for military education and training this year, in 2026 it will be 387  million drams, a reduction of approximately 700 million drams.  Foreign educational programs and training under this item have been  sharply reduced.  In 2025, 5660.9 billion drams will be allocated for  defense (combat readiness), while in 2026 a it will be 560.1 billion  drams, a decrease of approximately 100.8 billion drams. "The main  reason is that the item 'Ensuring capital needs of the Ministry of  Defense of the Republic of Armenia' (116.2 billion drams) has been  completely eliminated within the framework of the 'Maintaining Combat  Readiness, Ensuring the Strategic Deployment of the Armed Forces of  the Republic of Armenia' program," the expert notes. In terms of   international military cooperation, there are almost no changes,  approximately 942 million drams, while military medical services saw  a slight decrease of approximately 16 million drams, and humanitarian  demining also saw a slight decrease of approximately 15 million  drams.

"In fact, the main reasons for the budget cuts to the RA Ministry of  Defense are the reduction in funds allocated to cover capital needs  for ensuring the RA defense (combat readiness) (116 billion drams)  and the sharp reduction in military training expenditures (700  million drams).  Why are we cutting defense spending? What security  model are we striving for? And most importantly, can we talk about  army modernization and real combat readiness with such a policy?"  David Ananyan asks.