Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said in his speech at the Republic Day military parade that the Armenian Armed Forces would showcase their new arsenal, uniforms, and doctrine at the event.

“The core of this doctrine is the following: the army’s sole mission is to defend the internationally recognized sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia, and our army should not be used outside Armenia’s internationally recognized territory, except for peacekeeping missions carried out on the basis of international treaties. This approach has made possible what you will see today,” Pashinyan said before the parade began. 

According to him, prior to 2022, international markets for weapons and military equipment were largely closed or difficult to access for Armenia, as international partners refused to supply arms, arguing that they were convinced Armenia would use them outside its internationally recognized territory.

“Only after the agreements reached in Prague on October 6, 2022, when Armenia and Azerbaijan recognized each other’s territorial integrity based on the 1991 Alma-Ata Declaration, did the international arms market open up for Armenia,” the Armenian Prime Minister said.

At the military parade, which he described as a report to citizens, weaponry and military equipment produced by seven countries are presented, Pashinyan said.

“This geography of military-technical cooperation is the result of policies based on the ideology of ‘Real Armenia’,” Pashinyan added.

He described domestically produced weapons and military equipment as one of the key pillars of the parade. He said that the domestic defense industry is taking its first but confident steps toward securing a stable position in the international market.

“Since 2022, the Government of the Republic of Armenia has invested around 170 billion drams in the military-industrial complex, and today we have results we can be proud of,” the Prime Minister concluded.