AZE.US
Armenia can remove territorial claims against Azerbaijan from its constitutional preamble without waiting for an entirely new constitution, according to Azerbaijani diplomat and legal scholar Namik Aliyev.
Speaking on the Geopolitics With Barvinenko YouTube channel, Aliyev said Armenian law already provides a mechanism for making the change required to complete the peace agreement.
Azerbaijan is not demanding that Armenia rewrite its entire constitution. Baku’s objection concerns the preamble, which refers to Armenia’s Declaration of Independence and, in Azerbaijan’s view, preserves territorial claims against the country.
Aliyev warned that without removing that language, even a signed peace treaty could remain legally vulnerable. A future Armenian government could appeal to the Constitutional Court and seek to have the agreement declared inconsistent with the constitution.
“Azerbaijan has never demanded that the entire constitution be changed. That is Armenia’s internal affair. The issue is the preamble because it affects Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity,” Aliyev said.
He pointed to Article 202 of the Armenian Constitution, which lists provisions that can be amended only through a referendum. The preamble is not included in that list and can therefore be changed by a two-thirds vote in the National Assembly.
The amendment would require 70 votes. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s Civil Contract party holds 64 seats, leaving it six votes short.
However, Aliyev said the constitution provides another route if the opposition refuses to support the amendment.
If parliament rejects the proposal, three-fifths of lawmakers can vote to send it to a national referendum. Civil Contract already has enough seats to approve that step.
“Article 202 clearly makes it possible, under the current balance of political forces, to change the preamble and meet the condition necessary for signing the peace agreement,” Aliyev said.
In his view, Armenia could amend the preamble first, sign the peace treaty with Azerbaijan and then proceed with a broader constitutional reform. Drafting and adopting an entirely new constitution could take several years.
Aliyev said the delay may be driven by several factors, including concerns about opposition protests, Russian influence and Yerevan’s attempt to balance its continued dependence on Moscow with its shift toward the West.
He argued that Pashinyan’s government already has the legal and political tools required to move forward.
“We can see that Armenia is delaying the peace process. Much now depends on the decisions made in Yerevan,” Aliyev said.
AZE.US