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Opposition MP Artur Khachatryan on Thursday criticized the Armenian government over the 2024 draft state budget.

“The draft budget lacks adequate measures to deal with the problems facing Armenia, primarily the security challenges,” he said at the parliamentary debates on the document.

Khachatryan, who represents the opposition Hayastan faction, claims the 7 percent increase in defense spending envisaged by the draft budget is not big enough given the challenges following Azerbaijan’s seizure of Artsakh and the ethnic cleansing of its indigenous Armenian population in mid-September, as well as Azerbaijan’s occupation of around 250 square kilometers of Armenian territory, its continued arms imports and bellicose rhetoric.

“Meanwhile, the budget of the Interior Ministry has increased by 18 percent. In fact, the Armenian government sees threats from Armenian citizens rather than Azerbaijan and its patron Turkey,” he said.