Armenian MP suggests allowing conscripts to pay up to $50,000 to reduce length of military service

An MP belonging to the ruling Civil Contract party in Armenia has proposed allowing conscripts to pay large amounts of money — anywhere between ֏15–֏20 million ($38,000–$51,000) — in exchange for significantly reducing their mandatory military service.

According to the proposal by MP Hayk Sargsyan, conscripts would be able to serve only six out of 24 months for a payment of ֏15 million ($38,000) to the state budget, or serve for one month for ֏20 million ($51,000).

Responding to concerns that legislative reforms to the military service system could cause social injustice, Sargsyan countered that they would instead fix the currently existing unfairness.

According to CivilNet, Armenia’s conscription laws contain ‘multiple loopholes which many exploit’. They cited Sargsyan as saying that between 2020–2024, almost 9,000 Armenian nationals renounced their citizenship before turning 18 to evade military service. He additionally said that some Armenians would leave the country to study abroad or receive medical treatment and not return until they were past the age limit, 37, to serve in the military.

Sargasyan also noted that over 80% of those who received deferments and exemptions from compulsory military service were exempted due to health issues.

He therefore suggested calling up compulsory military service with restrictions in case of certain health problems, or raising the age limit for mandatory military service from 27 to 37 years.

Sargasyan emphasised that his proposals were both ‘aimed at complicating and limiting the existing ways to evade service’, and ‘encouraging aims to increase the attractiveness of the service’.

Other proposals include setting the base fee for denouncing Armenian citizenship at ֏15 million for male citizens under the age of 18, which is the same amount that Armenian citizens who have turned 27 and avoided mandatory military service can pay to be exempt from criminal liability.

The draft is expected to be discussed in the parliament’s Defence Committee.

Sargsyan stated that he had discussed his proposals personally with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who had ‘accepted’ them.

However, RFE/RL reported that the proposal was already studied by the Parliament Department of Expertise and Analysis, which concluded that such amendments could be unconstitutional and stated that all Armenians are equal before the law.

The department noted that Sargasyan’s proposal would not apply the obligation of mandatory military service equally to all; instead, it could be applied differently depending on families’ financial situations.

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