Nikol Pashinyan introduces new chief of National Security Council

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Friday met with members of the National Security Council (NSC) to introduce Armen Grigoryan, the agency's newly appointed secretary,/

Highlighting the NSC’s major role in determining the country's defense policies, the premier called for a serious and responsible attitude to the military, and attention to the armed forces’ capacity strengthening.

“The NSC staff must be the competent brain center to send signals to the policy trends in the defense sector,” he said, emphasizing also the agency’s functions of collecting information on existing threats and offering possible solutions.

Grigoryan, for his part, thanked the prime minister for his trust and support. “I am hopeful that the policy making in [national] security will be really upgraded to a new level. Armenia is facing challenges which demand solutions of political thought. I am confident that the team will be able to realize its tasks and raise the level of [national] security in Armenia, offering solutions to the existing challenges and problems,” he added.

Pashinyan asked the Council to conduct a session in the coming days to discuss the defense policies and discuss several agenda issues.

“We are required to do all our best to ensure the regular development of the armed forces, properly evaluating the existing challenges and having effective means to counteract them. Armenian citizens must be confident that the government has enough resources to ensure a full-fledged security for the country. We presently have all the necessary tools to elaborate effective policies in this sector,” he added.

Pashinyan further strongly warned against adopting a tolerant approach to shortcomings, noting that any attempt to cover up problems will only add to the already existing challenges. “An important thing to do is to diagnose the existing problems to achieve their rapid and effective solution. The National Security Service has a big role to play here. So I wish you success in the realization of your objectives,” he added.