Seyran Ohanian: There were no plans to cede Meghri to Azerbaijan

There have never been, nor can be, any plans to cede Meghri or any other territory to Azerbaijan, Armenian Defense Minister Seyran Ohanian said today at a meeting with members of Armenian Eagles NGO.

The minister stressed that he himself heard of such plans after rumors began to circulate among the public.

“The Armenian armed forces protect every inch of our land and there neither is, nor can be, such a plan,” Ohanian said.

Asked by a member of the NGO why children of officials are mostly exempted from military service – ‘Perhaps all of them are born scientists?’, the minister replied: “All those citizens who are not recipients of draft deferment have to serve in the army”.

As for deferments, the minister said that every year they together with Ministry of Education and Science reduce the number of deferment recipients in university programs. “Thus the corruption risks are reduced,” he explained.