Defense ministry will take into account pros and cons of MPs and public when drafting final version of its budget for 2015

YEREVAN, 17 October. / ARKA /. The Armenian defense ministry will take into account the pros and cons of  parliamentarians and the public at large when drafting the final version of its budget for 2015,  defense minister Seyran Ohanyan said on Friday during a parliamentary hearing on  "Planning for defense budgeting and effective cost control." 

He stressed that his agency has never avoided parliamentary or public hearings on the armed forces, when the army may be criticized harshly.

"This criticism is sometimes objective and sometimes biased, but we never avoid public hearings because in order to solve our problems we must also listen to public opinion, to get our parliament involved in this process," he said. 

The minister said he always tries to be personally present at such discussions and following them he convenes the army brass for seeking solutions to problems voiced.  He said the reforms in the army are not an imitation.

"We really work, and if something does not work there are obvious reasons behind it, which we can overcome by getting the parliament and the public at large involved in this process," said the minister. 

The preliminary version of the 2015 budget approved by the government on September 25 calls for 1.184 trillion drams in revenue and 1.298 trillion drams in spending. The projected budget deficit is 114.1 billion drams. ($ 1 - 409.3 drams) -0-