Deputy Defense Minister Arman Sargsyan rejected lawmaker Hayk Sargsyan’s claims about manpower shortages in the military and urged MPs at a parliamentary committee to turn down the latter’s bill proposing several amendments to the enlistment process.

MP Hayk Sargsyan’s bill, in particular, sought to raise the conscription age, criminalize refusal to undergo a medical examination as a form of draft evasion, increase the state duty for renouncing citizenship, and introduce a short-term paid service option for draft evaders as a form of redress. The legislator argued that the number of enlistments has been declining over the years and will continue to fall.

However, Deputy Defense Minister Arman Sargsyan rejected these claims, stating that the number of conscripts between 2023 and 2026 has increased by around 25% compared to 2022.

The Deputy Minister noted that legislative changes implemented in recent years have contributed to an increase in conscription rates.

“Between 2023 and 2026, the number of those conscripted has increased by about 25 percent compared to 2022. In other words, if we continue at the same pace and improve the legal framework, we will not face the concerning situation described by the parliamentarian,” Arman Sargsyan said at the parliament’s Defense and Security Committee.

The Deputy Minister also criticized certain provisions included in the bill, particularly the mechanism allowing exemption from service in exchange for a fee.

“If, hypothetically, 3,000 people make use of the option to be exempted from service in exchange for payment, that does not mean conscription numbers will increase by the same amount. It may generate budget revenues, but it does not solve the problem of increasing conscription figures,” he noted.

Arman Sargsyan added that positive trends have also recently been recorded in the field of voluntary contract-based service.

“The number of those who have entered contractual military service under the ‘Homeland Defender’ program has exceeded 5,300, which indicates positive momentum and is aimed at forming a professional army,” the Deputy Minister said.

Sargsyan added that the Cabinet has issued a negative opinion on the bill. The committee likewise rejected it.