Azerbaijan has reiterated its demands for changes to Armenia’s constitution, citing alleged territorial claims in it as the remaining “main obstacle” to finalizing a peace agreement between the two countries, making the signing of the treaty contingent on these constitutional changes. This message was conveyed on Tuesday by both Elchin Amirbayov, a senior aide to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, in an interview with The Korea Times, and Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov during a press conference with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan in Ankara, reports Anadolu Agency.
Bayramov stated, “Currently, the main obstacle to the completion of the peace treaty is the territorial claims against our countries”Azerbaijan and Turkey”in the Armenian constitution.”
Bayramov noted that despite positive progress in negotiations, including reaching agreement on a “significant part” of the draft peace deal, these alleged territorial claims still exist in Armenia’s constitution and other legal documents.
Bayramov accused third countries of helping Armenia “rapidly arm itself,” which he called a “very wrong policy” that “can and should be considered an additional source of threat for the region.”
“At the same time, it is no secret that Armenia has territorial claims against the Republic of Turkey,” Bayramov said, describing Yerevan’s rapid armament as a “disturbing trend.”
“We are monitoring all these processes. All work related to these developments is being implemented in a coordinated manner between Azerbaijan and Turkey. The position of Azerbaijan and Turkey is the same”mutual support, strategic partnership, and alliance relations. And it will continue like this. This policy of our countries will bring peace, tranquility, and stability to our region,” Bayramov asserted.
Fidan, for his part, stressed the importance of continuing joint efforts to ensure long-term peace in the region. He added, “Turkey and Azerbaijan have always acted based on the concept of ‘one nation, two states.’ We will continue to support each other both on good and hard days.”
Amirbayov, in his interview, emphasized the need for Armenia to resolve its constitutional territorial claims to ensure sustainable peace. “We are very close to finalizing a peace agreement with Armenia, but we need to ensure this peace is sustainable. The remaining obstacle is Armenia’s constitutional territorial claim over a part of Azerbaijan. Once that is resolved, we can move forward,” Amirbayov stated.
Aliyev has reiterated this precondition repeatedly in recent months.
To note, the only legal way to change Armenia’s constitution is through a referendum.
Bayramov’s trip to Ankara follows Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Baku, during which Putin offered to help broker the peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Putin reiterated the offer in a subsequent phone call with Pashinyan. Unlike Yerevan, Baku has welcomed this and previous Russian initiatives. Nevertheless, Amirbayov stated that Azerbaijan does not want any third country to play a “direct role” in the peace process.
