Yerevan Reveals Reasons for Refusing Constitutional Changes

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated that both President Ilham Aliyev and he agree on the necessity for Armenia and Azerbaijan not only to reach a peace agreement and other accords but also to sign a strategic deal on peaceful coexistence. He made these remarks on November 13 during a session of the National Assembly.

Pashinyan expressed satisfaction with his recent contacts with Aliyev, noting, "We have not had such an extended conversation in a long time."

Referring to a potential agreement, Pashinyan shared his vision: "There is no big secret here. Essentially, our vision for a strategic deal is based on the concept of a 'real Armenia,'" he explained.

In official Yerevan's terminology, "real Armenia" refers to the Republic of Armenia within its internationally recognized borders, without any territorial claims against Turkey and Azerbaijan.

Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan continued on the prime minister's theme, informing Armenian lawmakers that Armenia and Azerbaijan are very close to finalizing the text of a peace treaty.

"Only one or two phrases and articles remain, around which negotiations will continue more intensively. The work is progressing, and I would even say in a more constructive atmosphere. I would like to express cautious optimism that we are indeed very close to finalizing the text of the peace treaty," the foreign minister stated.

Azerbaijan's representatives have not dropped their demand for Yerevan to remove any mention of Karabakh from Armenia’s Declaration of Independence, as referenced in the country's Constitution. However, Pashinyan remains firm, refusing to amend the Constitution. He explained this stance to the parliament members:

Azerbaijan’s claims that Armenia’s Constitution contains territorial claims against Azerbaijan are based on the fact that the preamble of the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia (RA) includes a general reference to the Declaration of Independence, which, in turn, mentions Nagorno-Karabakh, Pashinyan said.

He recalled that the Constitutional Court of Armenia, in its ruling from September 2024, confirmed that this reference to the Declaration of Independence applies only to the provisions reflected in the articles of the Constitution. "There is no direct or indirect mention of Nagorno-Karabakh in the Constitution text. It should also be noted that there is a clear hierarchical distinction between the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution based on the adopting entities. While the Declaration of Independence was adopted by the Supreme Council of the Armenian SSR, the Constitution was adopted by the people of the internationally recognized sovereign state of RA."

"Secondly, the preamble of the Azerbaijani Constitution includes a reference to the constitutional act adopted on October 18, 1991. This act, in turn, refers to the Declaration of Independence of the first Azerbaijani republic, adopted on May 28, 1918. The declaration of the first Azerbaijani republic states that it includes Eastern and Southern Transcaucasia. In November 1919, the Azerbaijani Republic submitted an administrative-territorial map to the Entente, according to which the Syunik and Vayots Dzor regions (of Armenia) were entirely included in Azerbaijan, along with partial territories of the Ararat, Armavir, Gegharkunik, Tavush, Shirak, and Lori regions (of Armenia). This accounts for about 60% of today’s Armenian territory.

"It is evident that the Azerbaijani Constitution contains territorial claims against Armenia," Pashinyan asserted.

He explained that Armenia refrains from amending its Constitution for two reasons. Firstly, it would derail the Armenian-Azerbaijani peace process. Secondly, a clause in the agreed part of the peace treaty text states that neither side can refer to domestic legislation as a justification for failing to implement the treaty.

"Another clause of the treaty states that both sides recognize each other's territorial integrity, have no territorial claims, and pledge not to make any in the future," the prime minister added.

Summing up his speech, Pashinyan said, "We are not raising the issue of amending Azerbaijan's Constitution and, based on the same logic, we see no need to amend Armenia's Constitution in this context."

Baku announced that negotiations with Yerevan will continue in December, after the conclusion of COP29. This was stated by Hikmet Hajiyev, the assistant to the President of Azerbaijan. According to Hajiyev, there are certain issues in the text of the document. "Therefore, discussions and negotiations continue at the expert level," the Azerbaijani president’s assistant added.