Commander of the Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh) Defense Army Levon Mnatsakanyan has said that the settlement of the conflict will be painful "not for us, but for others."

His comments came after Armenian president Serzh Sargsyan said recently that "the Karabakh conflict will have a very painful solution."

"I am not commenting on the words of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, but the phrase 'very painful' refers not to us, but to others," Mnatsakanyan said.

Weighing on a new law about military service, the top official said that "the protection of the country comes before everything else."

The Armenian National Assembly on November 15 approved on its second and final reading the draft law on military service and the soldier's status.