Serzh Sargsyan was present at the launch of the operative meetings of the leadership of RA Armed Forces

The President of Armenia, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Serzh Sargsyan today at the administrative compound of the Defense Ministry was present at the launch of the operative meetings of the leadership of the RA Armed Forces which was attended by the commanders of all military units, headquarters, Heads of different Army divisions and law enforcement bodies, leadership of the military institutions, as well as representatives of the state and local self-governance bodies. Operative meetings are being conducted according to the 2016 plan on the activities and preparedness of the Armed Forces and are aimed at improving the theoretical and operational abilities of the commanders and their headquarters, at raising the level of synchronization between the governing bodies of the strategic and operative-tactic units, and at upgrading the professional level of the leadership of the Armed Forces.

The Minister of Defense Seiran Ohanian reported to the President of Armenia on the program of the events to be carried out in the framework of the meetings. According to the Minister, they will conclude with the strategic command and staff military exercises which will take into consideration the military and political situation in the region.

The President greeted the participants of the meeting and stressed the importance of organizing the event from a number of viewpoints, including the fact that beside the mentioned above purposes, the meetings should enhance a more harmonized interaction not only with other armies but also with the local self-governance bodies. The participants will also have the opportunity to familiarize with the new developments in different areas of defense, pressing issues and will exchange views on them. “I see the importance of the current meeting first of all in the fact that it is being conducted in the phase when the security environment in Armenia is influenced by foreign developments and against the background of constitutional changes going on in our country, within the governing structure, at a juncture when some of important processes come to conclusion and a new phase of development kicks off. All this commands each of us to come up with new approaches and new efforts,” said President Serzh Sargsyan.

In this remarks, the President of Armenia spoke about the changes made in the Constitution of Armenia after the referendum held in the end of last year, and stressed the importance of discussions on the nature of the reforms which were made in the Constitution with regard to thwarting possible threats against the Republic of Armenia. Serzh Sargsyan spoke about the results of the Strategic Review process which concluded in the end of 2015 and viewed as feasible according to the plan to inform the participants of the meeting on the main principles and approaches regarding the development of the Armed Forces in the next five years.

The President spoke also about the escalation which took place last year at the line of contact, as well as about the situation in the regions in the vicinity of Armenia, including Syria and Ukraine. “At the end of the year, the Armenian Armed Forces received qualitatively new weaponry and guarantees on new deliveries. It’s even more important that, to use your language, we have developed a new concept of “military confrontation deterrence.” I believe it would be use to present during the operative meeting the approaches of the Ministry of Defense on the military and political situation in the region and on the implementation of the steps aimed at upholding the security of the country,” said President Sargsyan. He presented a number of other proposals and issued instructions to the participants of the operative meeting.

The President wished the participants efficient work and active participation to the operative meetings. He also answered various questions of the participants related to the current stage of the NK peace process, problems of the border villages, cooperation with allies, programs aimed at the improvement of the social conditions of freedom fighters, veterans and servicemen, and other.