Challenges from shorter military service to emerge in 2027, opposition MP warns

MP Tigran Abrahamyan, secretary of the opposition Pativ Unem faction in the Armenian parliament, has warned that the government’s plan to shorten the length of compulsory military service will lead to significant challenges as early as the summer of 2027.

In a Facebook post on Saturday, Abrahamyan said that during recent parliamentary debates on the proposed measure, the Ministry of Defense presented figures that received little public attention. According to the ministry, around 16,000 reservists took part in 25-day military training exercises this year, a number expected to rise to about 20,000 in 2026.

Abrahamyan highlighted that 14 of the 25 days are spent on combat duty, an arrangement designed to help offset existing staffing shortages.

However, he argued that deeper problems will surface when the first group of conscripts serving the new 18-month term is discharged in 2027. “The issues stemming from the reduction of military service will become evident in the summer of 2027, when the first group of those drafted for one and a half years is discharged, further aggravating the numerous pending problems,” he said.

The MP accused the government of treating the armed forces largely as a symbolic institution and basing its calculations on the assumption that Armenia will not face new security threats.