Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has stated that Armenia must amend its constitution and establish an extraterritorial corridor to the Nakhichevan exclave in order to achieve peace with Azerbaijan.
Speaking at an international forum in Baku, Aliyev outlined this constitutional change as a “precondition” for a comprehensive peace agreement between the two South Caucasus countries. He highlighted the reference in Armenia’s constitution to the 1990 declaration of independence, which asserts that the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic is part of Armenia, as an obstacle to peace. Aliyev emphasized the need for Armenia to remove this reference, supposedly not as interference in its internal affairs, but as a necessary condition for a peace treaty.
On February 1, Aliyev called for the removal of the constitutional reference to the 1990 declaration, which cites a 1989 unification act between Soviet Armenia and the then Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan responded by stating that both sides had agreed during peace talks not to use their respective laws to deny compliance with the provisions of a peace treaty.
Pashinyan has stated that Armenia requires a new constitution that aligns with the “new geopolitical environment” in the region, though critics argue he is acting under Azerbaijani pressure. He maintains that peace with Azerbaijan will be unachievable while the constitutional reference to the 1990 declaration remains.
Aliyev also renewed his call for the opening of the “Zangezur corridor,” which would link Nakhichevan to the rest of Azerbaijan through Armenia’s Syunik province. He referenced the 2020 ceasefire agreement, brokered by Russia, which halted the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and included a clause for the corridor’s establishment.
The Armenian government has maintained that any Azerbaijani passage through Syunik must be subject to Armenian border controls and insists on standard transport links between the countries. Tehran opposes the corridor, as it would impact Iran’s access to the region.
Aliyev’s renewed demands follow Pashinyan’s agreement to hand over four contested border areas to Azerbaijan as part of the ongoing delimitation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. Armenian opposition leaders have criticized Pashinyan for yielding to Azerbaijani pressure, arguing that it may lead to further demands and concessions from Baku.
