Armenian premier affirms 'high confidence' in National Security Service

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Thursday expressed his high confidence in the National Security Service (NSS), highlighting the agency's supreme role as a top priority for his government.

In a solemn speech dedicated to the Day of the National Security Officer, the premier also praised the NSS for conscientious work, agreeing that it remains ″largely invisible″ to the society, meeting public criticism time and again.

He also cited international evaluations reports Armenia among the world leaders on different security indexes.

Admitting that his confidence in the NSS has been increasingly disputed in the past 1.5 years (since his taking office), Pashinyan noted that the agency had ″never crossed the red lines″ even under the previous governments (in the period when he was an opposition politician and a political prisoner).

″This is among the reasons that today, as the prime minister of Armenia, I have trust in the National Security Service,″ he added.

Pashinyan also warned against attempts to fit the scope of the NSS's functions into the logic of a specific government. ″In the course of time, the NSS may reduce its efforts  in the fight against corruption as we will more efficient institutions need to be developed to realize that objective,″ he added.