"Unprecedented, but significantly inferior to Baku": expert on Armenia's military spending

JAMnews

Yerevan

Armenia’s military spending in 2025

The Armenian government plans to increase military spending by approximately 20 percent, or 110 billion drams [about $286 million]. According to the draft state budget for 2025, the Ministry of Defense will be allocated 664.6 billion drams [about $1.7 billion].

These are unprecedentedly high defense expenditures, says Leonid Nersisyan, a military expert and research fellow at the APRI Armenia analytical center. Yet, he emphasizes that despite the increase in the military budget, Yerevan still lags significantly behind Baku in terms of military spending.

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Military expenditure in the state budget is less than social spending

At the end of last week, the government approved the 2025 state budget and sent it to parliament.

In this draft, military spending ranks second. The cabinet considers addressing social issues as its top priority, allocating more than 900 billion drams [about $2.3 billion] for this purpose.

A significant portion of the military budget is designated for the acquisition of military equipment and weapons, transport vehicles, communication systems, barracks outfitting, and food supplies.

The published document does not specify the amount allocated for “potential purchases of weapons and ammunition.”

However, there are several budget lines where expenditure amounts are clearly defined:

Education in foreign universities and professional development — 1,072.4 million drams [about $2.8 million],
Provision of rehabilitation services and specialized medical care, organization of epidemic measures, repair and maintenance of equipment in military hospitals and medical centers — 1,405.8 million drams [about $3.7 million],
Research and mapping of territories requiring demining, clarification of the estimated scope of work, and planning of activities to be conducted — 321.1 million drams [about $834,000],
Expenses for maintaining military attachés in foreign countries and Armenia’s military representatives in international organizations — 941.6 million drams [about $2.4 million].

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Assistant to the president of Azerbaijan Hikmet Hajiyev, in particular, stated that “the international community should impose restrictions on the Armed Forces of Armenia.”

Azerbaijan expresses discontent over Armenia’s increased military budget

Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov recently expressed dissatisfaction with Armenia’s increased military budget, complaining that Yerevan is acquiring “offensive weapons.”

For several months Baku has been making regular statements about the “militarization” of Armenia. In response, officials in Yerevan at the highest level assert that the country is arming itself to ensure the safety of its citizens.

“The Republic of Armenia is not pursuing any aggressive goals,” Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has repeatedly stated.

The European Commission’s spokesman for foreign affairs and security policy, Peter Stano, also deemed the accusations against Armenia to be baseless.

“Armenia has the sovereign right to work on its defense capabilities and choose its partners, including in the areas of security and defense,” Stano stated.

He emphasized that the support provided to Armenia by the European Peace Facility does not include the provision of weapons, especially offensive. He stated that the EU maintains close bilateral relations and mutually beneficial cooperation with both Armenia and Azerbaijan, while remaining neutral in the ongoing negotiation process.

Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has already responded to this statement. The ministry’s spokesperson, Ayhan Hajizade, called it “unfounded and unacceptable.”

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Commentary

Each year Armenia sets a new record in military spending, says military expert Leonid Nersisyan. In 2024, the amount allocated for military expenditures reached its highest level in the country’s history:

“Defense spending has never been this large. Before the 2020 war, this budget line did not even exceed $700 million.”

At the same time, Nersisyan notes, Baku plans to allocate $3.6 billion for military expenditures in 2025.

“Last year, the gap was nearly 2.5 times greater; this year, Armenia is trailing Azerbaijan by a factor of two. However, we are seeing a positive trend for Armenia. A few years ago, specifically in 2013, Armenia’s military budget was not just two times smaller than Azerbaijan’s—it was five to six times smaller.”