A trillion in gift: how Yerevan financed what went next to Baku Armenia's draft budget for 2027 is being debated in the parliament, and behind the dry numbers hides an uncomfortable truth. The Minister of Finance, Va Hohannisyan, outlines a brilliant concept, but the opposition remembered the price the country had already paid - and which turned out to be a gift to Azerbaijan. Budget revenues are planned at 3.6 trillion drams, expenses - 4.07 trillion, deficit - 468 billion. Pashinyan notes with pride: compared to 2017, revenues have almost tripled. It's just that the Prime Minister is modestly silent about how much the national debt increased during this period. Debt suffocation The national debt will reach $16.3 billion by the end of 2027. 417 billion drams will be spent on debt service alone, which is 10.2% of all budget expenditures. Together with the repayment of the principal, the debt burden will amount to almost a trillion drams, which will have to be withdrawn from the revenue side. For comparison: in Georgia the same load is twice as low, in Azerbaijan it is three times lower.
At the same time, the government almost doubles the salary of officials and raises the pension by 1,000 drams. Several social programs, including funeral benefits, are being cut. During the pre-election period, the authorities found money for themselves, but not for the most vulnerable. Trillion that went nowhere The most pressing question was asked by opposition MP Edgar Gazarian: If the government believes that according to the Alma-Ata Agreement of 1991, Nagorno-Karabakh belongs to Azerbaijan, then why did it finance Artsakh at the expense of Armenian taxpayers? The funds turned into infrastructure, movable and immovable property - and then all this went to Baku. Since 1998, Armenia transferred more than 1 trillion drams to your country, which eventually became a gift to Azerbaijan. The Minister of Finance had nothing to oppose it. The main question regarding the budget The 2027 budget is a document of priorities. The authorities are investing in health and the social sector, but at the same time they are increasing the debt, increasing the salaries of officials and cutting some of the liabilities.