Pashinian says army was rebuilt from scratch, replacing obsolete arsenal – Armenia News Online – All the news from the Armenian world

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian said Tuesday that his government created the country’s army from scratch.

Speaking at a campaign event for the Civil Contract party in Meghradzor, Kotayk province, Pashinian said his administration had inherited the “ruins” of an army from previous governments.

He said the upcoming military parade, scheduled for Republic Day, May 28, on Republic Square in central Yerevan, will showcase defense acquisitions made since 2022.

Pashinian said the military parade would serve as a “report” to citizens.

“They spread so many rumors that we destroyed the army. We did not destroy it; we dismantled what they called an army, which was really just a pile of ruins, and we rebuilt one from scratch. Come to the Place de la République and you will see this army,” the Prime Minister declared to voters.

According to him, around 90% of the military equipment that will be presented during the parade was acquired after 2022.

Pashinyan also noted that Armenia received the D-30 artillery system, one of the main artillery assets of the Armenian Armed Forces, for the first time in factory-produced form in 2023, while in the past only second-hand systems were received. been supplied to the country.

“We are the first users; the product arrived directly from the factory in the Republic of Armenia,” he said.

He accused his predecessors of having neglected the army and of having equipped the armed forces with obsolete weapons.

“70% of our army’s weapons date from the 1970s, 1960s and 1950s,” Pashinian said.

According to him, following the mutual recognition of territorial integrity between Armenia and Azerbaijan, new opportunities have presented themselves to Armenia on international defense markets to acquire military equipment.

“When we recognized the territorial integrity of our neighbors, and our neighbors recognized ours, the arms market opened up to us, because it is a legitimate right to protect the security and inviolability of one’s own territory,” declared Pachinian.