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Speaker of Parliament Ruben Rubinyan has said that the threats to Armenia's security include the fact that peace with Azerbaijan is not yet fully institutionalized, the closed border with Türkiye and the absence of diplomatic relations, as well as the insufficient diversification of the country's economic, security, and energy ties.
Speaker Rubinyan made these remarks in parliament in response to a speech by Kristine Vardanyan, an MP from the opposition Armenia faction, and to her question regarding the sources of the current threats facing Armenia.
"Our threats come, first and foremost, from Azerbaijan. We have peace with Azerbaijan, but that peace is not yet irreversible and has not been fully institutionalized. In other words, the absence of comprehensive peace with Azerbaijan is unequivocally and indisputably a threat to the security of the Republic of Armenia," Rubinyan said.
According to the Speaker, the closed border with Türkiye and the lack of diplomatic relations between the two countries also constitute a threat.
"We face a threat from Türkiye because having a closed border with an immediate neighbor is, at the very least, an economic threat, while the absence of established diplomatic relations is, at the very least, a diplomatic threat," Rubinyan said.
Rubinyan also listed the insufficient diversification of Armenia's economic and security partnerships, energy supply sources, and transit routes among the country's security vulnerabilities.
He said that the key difference between the government's approach and that of the opposition is that the government seeks to neutralize these threats and find solutions to them.
"We recognize the threat and want to eliminate or neutralize it. We saw that there was no peace, and we achieved peace. Now we see that it is not yet irreversible and not 100 percent institutionalized, and we want to make it irreversible and institutionalize it," Rubinyan said.
Addressing Armenia–Türkiye relations, he noted that Yerevan is working through negotiations to open the border and normalize bilateral relations.
"We see the closed border with Türkiye, and we recognize that it is a threat to our businesses and to Armenia in general. We are negotiating to reach a solution, and in the process we are moving forward step by step," Rubinyan said.
Rubinyan criticized the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, arguing that the party does not seek to neutralize these threats but instead exploits them for political purposes.
According to Rubinyan, everyone in Armenia understands that unresolved relations with Türkiye and the lack of fully institutionalized peace with Azerbaijan are threats.
"There is no one in Armenia who does not understand that unresolved relations with Türkiye are a threat, or who does not understand that the absence of fully institutionalized peace with Azerbaijan is a threat," he said.
Rubinyan also addressed Russia's restrictions on imports of Armenian products, urging Kristine Vardanyan to clearly state her position on the issue.
He asked whether the opposition faction believes that Armenian products actually fail to meet the standards of the Eurasian Economic Union and whether, for example, the restrictions imposed on Jermuk mineral water are justified.
"If you believe that our products do not violate any standards, then please tell us: is it an act befitting a partner to impose economic restrictions on goods that comply with all standards? Are we not dealing with an act of pressure here, and does that pressure not itself pose a threat—for example, to our sovereignty?" Rubinyan asked.
The Speaker called on Kristine Vardanyan to provide direct and clear answers to these questions in her speech, emphasizing that discussing them constitutes a substantive political debate.