Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has once again rejected Azerbaijan’s demands for amendments to Armenia’s constitution, which Baku claims contain territorial assertions against Azerbaijan.
President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan has repeatedly insisted that such changes are a prerequisite for signing a peace treaty with Armenia. The Azerbaijani leadership has pointed to the preamble of Armenia’s constitution, which references the 1990 Declaration of Independence. That declaration cites a 1989 act of unification between Soviet Armenia and the “Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast”, adopted by their respective legislative bodies.
Elnur Mammadov, Azerbaijan’s deputy foreign minister, identified Armenia’s constitutional preamble as one of “two main obstacles” to achieving a lasting peace between the two nations. Speaking at a government-organized event in Baku on December 5, Mammadov said, “The second obstacle is that Armenia’s representatives have differing positions,” without providing further details.
In response, Pashinyan took to social media platform X, reiterating that the preamble holds no legal standing over the constitution’s articles. Citing a recent ruling by the Armenian Constitutional Court, he emphasized, “No provision of the Armenian Constitution contains any territorial claim against our neighbors.”
Earlier this year, Pashinyan acknowledged the need for a new Armenian constitution to reflect the “new geopolitical realities” of the region. However, he refuted accusations that these efforts are driven by Azerbaijani pressure. Despite this, Pashinyan stated in January that achieving peace with Azerbaijan would remain challenging as long as the constitutional preamble remains unchanged.
In May, Pashinyan tasked a government commission with drafting a new constitution by 2026, though the commission has yet to begin its work.
During a parliamentary address on December 4, Pashinyan expressed optimism about finalizing a peace agreement soon, even in the face of Baku’s ongoing demands. The following day, Aliyev reiterated those conditions, adding that Armenia must not only amend its constitution but also facilitate the return of Azerbaijanis displaced in the late 1980s.
The back-and-forth highlights ongoing tensions between the two countries, underscoring the challenges of achieving a durable peace in the South Caucasus.
