Armenian MP questions planned cut to 2026 military budget amid security threats

Opposition MP Tigran Abrahamyan has criticized the Armenian government’s planned defense spending, saying the 2026 military budget is set to fall by 15-16% compared with 2025 despite ongoing security risks and unresolved post-war challenges.

In a social media post on Thursday, Abrahamyan, secretary of the Pativ Unem faction, said the Defense Ministry had justified the decrease by pointing to an overall increase of about $1.1 billion in military spending compared with 2018, a comparison he called misleading.

He argued that Armenia’s security situation has deteriorated sharply since 2018, highlighting the ongoing occupation of sovereign Armenian territories and the loss of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh). He also pointed to higher international prices for ammunition and military equipment, stating Armenia previously benefited from cheaper arms purchases and free weapons and spare parts.

“Why has the military budget been reduced by around 15-16%, roughly 100 billion drams, compared with last year?” Abrahamyan said, adding that Armenia remains surrounded by threats and has not recovered from the consequences of war.

He accused the government of cutting defense spending under the banner of building “peace”, warning against fostering a false sense of security among the public. “You convinced people of this in 2018-2020 as well. We saw how that ended,” he said.