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The draft law on the State Budget for 2024 was debated in two regimes: open and closed, at the joint sitting of the Standing Committees on Defense and Security and on Financial-Credit and Budgetary Affairs. As a result of debates, I pointed out that the state budget of 2024 can be considered as a security budget: The Chair of the Standing Committee on Defense and Security Andranik Kocharyan said this at November 15 sitting of the National Assembly.

He informed that at the joint sitting of the Standing Committees, only the programme part of the Ministry of Internal Affairs was debated in open regime, and in the closed regime - the programme part of defense and the structure of the budget, which mainly related to the acquisition of weapons and other implemented programmes.

“There is a new idea in the content of armaments: the RA will never acquire used defensive weapons again. Our strategy will steadily implement this problem,” Andranik Kocharyan stated and referred to the construction works debated during the sitting. “If in the previous 26 years such fortification works were carried out as in recent years, the dividing line of the 44-day war would have passed through a different area. Today, the capital investments are directed to the solution of that problem, which has not been done for a very long time,” the parliamentarian said.

Andranik Kocharyan stressed that the budget expenses allocated to the Foreign Intelligence should be available to the Standing Committee on Defense and Security, they should be debated behind closed doors. Reference was made to the problems of the National Security Service, budget increases, it was noted that they are aimed at managing the border challenges correctly.

The Committee Chair mentioned with satisfaction that the opposition Armenia Faction also participated in the budget debates.

The deputy of Armenia Faction Artur Khachatryan informed that on the eve of the New Year, the Faction will apply to the Ministry of Defense in connection with moving to the positions of Ishkhanasar. The deputy asked whether Andranik Kocharyan would mediate to allow them to see the new positions built.

Turning to the question, the Committee Chair said that the deputies of Armenia Faction will be able to move to the mentioned positions together with the Committee. The parliamentarian mentioned that those deputies who have permission to do so will have the opportunity to move to specific positions. And if the Faction wants to move to the positions without the Committee, it should contact the Ministry of Defense, the latter will give an answer.