Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has firmly rejected ongoing Azerbaijani demands for changes to Armenia’s Constitution, which Baku says include territorial assertions against Azerbaijan. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has consistently described such a constitutional amendment as a precondition for signing a peace deal, reiterating this demand during talks with foreign leaders in recent days.
Baku points to the Armenian Constitution’s preamble, which references the 1990 Declaration of Armenia’s Independence, itself citing a 1989 unification act adopted by the legislative bodies of Soviet Armenia and the then Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast.
However, Pashinyan, echoing a recent ruling by Armenia’s Constitutional Court, downplayed the legal significance of the preamble, stressing that the Constitution’s articles take precedence. He further highlighted that it is Azerbaijan’s Constitution, not Armenia’s, that makes claims to Armenian territory.
Pashinyan said Armenia refrains from raising the need to change the Azerbaijani Constitution for two reasons, a Q&A session at the Armenian Parliament. “First, such a demand would lead to a deadlock in the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace process. Second, the agreed section of the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace treaty states that neither party can use domestic legislation to justify a failure to implement the agreement this treaty.”
“By the same logic, we believe that there is no need to amend the Armenian constitution in this context,” said Pashinyan.
Pashinyan also stated that another key article of the agreed part of the peace treaty requires both parties to recognize each other’s territorial integrity and commit not to make territorial claims now or in the future. Under Armenian law, once the peace treaty is signed, it must be ratified by Parliament. Before ratification, the treaty must be sent to the Constitutional Court to verify compliance with the Constitution. Should the Court find any inconsistencies, Armenia may initiate constitutional amendments; otherwise, the treaty would proceed to the Parliament for ratification.
Pashinyan cited Article 5.3 of the Armenian Constitution, noting, “In case of conflict between the norms of international treaties ratified by the Republic of Armenia and those of domestic legislation, the norms of international treaties shall apply.” Once ratified, the treaty would hold supreme legal authority over Armenia’s laws and legal acts”a principle that would also apply to Azerbaijan.
In January, Pashinyan announced the need for a new constitution to reflect the “new geopolitical environment” in the region, denying critics’ claims that Baku was dictating this initiative. Nevertheless, he acknowledged that peace with Azerbaijan would remain elusive as long as the constitutional reference to the 1990 declaration stood unchanged. In May, Pashinyan tasked an ad hoc government body with drafting a new constitution by 2026, with plans to hold a referendum in 2027.
On Wednesday, Pashinyan reiterated that he could “initiate constitutional changes” if the Armenian Constitutional Court were to refuse to validate the peace treaty. He also recently proposed that Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers hold intensive talks to resolve outstanding issues and finalize the treaty ahead of the COP29 climate summit in Baku”a proposal that did not materialize. Senior Armenian officials acknowledged continued disagreements on key provisions of the proposed treaty.
Aliyev’s top foreign policy aide, Hikmet Hajiyev, told Russian media on Wednesday that talks between Baku and Yerevan will likely resume next month to address unresolved issues.
