Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced in a Facebook livestream that the term of mandatory military service in Armenia will be reduced to 1.5 years starting January 1, 2026.
Originally, the reform was expected to take effect with the summer 2026 conscription cycle, but the government has now decided to implement the change earlier, from the beginning of the year.
The Ministry of Defense had previously submitted a draft law for public discussion proposing to reduce mandatory service by six months, setting the new term at 18 months instead of two years. The proposal initially set the change for the summer 2026 draft.
