Armenia’s Finance Minister, Vahe Hovhannisyan, said the government’s 2026 budget plan intends to reduce the Ministry of Defense’s share in overall spending compared to 2025.
The minister’s remarks echo a recent Fitch Ratings report, which stated that “Armenia could benefit from reduced fiscal and currency risks if defense spending is scaled back in the medium term.” The agency issued its assessment following the presentation of a draft Armenia–Azerbaijan peace framework in Washington, noting that the deal could help reduce regional tensions and support positive credit trends. Fitch added that while the framework is unlikely to have an immediate effect on Armenia’s rating, a sustained reduction in geopolitical risks could ease fiscal pressures and stabilize currency performance.
Speaking to Armenian Public TV, the Finance Minister said that Fitch’s assessment aligns with government plans.
“What Fitch has noted is something we had already planned to implement. We are working on the budget document, where all of this will be presented in detail. And yes, it is also planned that the share of the Ministry of Defense in the overall budget will be reduced compared to 2025,” he said.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan also addressed the issue on August 21, saying the 2026 state budget may see no increase in defense spending, which he described as “logical” under current circumstances. He told reporters, “All our decisions will correspond to the development of events in the short-term, medium-term, and long-term outlook.”
Meanwhile, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, speaking during a visit to Occupied Artsakh’s Karvajar region on Thursday, presented a different outlook, stressing continued military expansion despite wanting peace.
“We [Azerbaijan] do not want war. We want peace. But that bloody history should never be erased from our memory. We should never be deceived by sweet words, and we should always be vigilant,” Aliyev said.
He underlined that Azerbaijan’s armed forces remain on constant alert: “Of course, our Armed Forces are on guard of the interests and security of our state every moment, every day. We are watching, seeing, and will detect all possible sources of danger.”
Aliyev also emphasized military buildup since the Second Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) War: “We are building up our military capacity. After the Second Artsakh War, we have increased the number of our special forces both in the Caspian Sea and in all other armed forces by thousands — I don’t want to specify the number, but it is a large number. New commando forces have been created.”
He detailed new acquisitions, saying: “The most modern unmanned aerial vehicles and new artillery systems have been brought to our country. Now contracts have been signed for new combat aircraft, while the existing aircraft have been fully modernized.”
Aliyev concluded that uncertainty in global affairs means Azerbaijan must remain vigilant: “We must be ready for war at any moment. Because the processes in the world are going in such a direction that it is impossible to predict what may happen tomorrow. We ourselves are the guarantor of our security — the government, the people, and our Armed Forces.”
