AZE.US
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has secured another political victory, but that does not mean the peace process with Azerbaijan is complete.
Political analyst Rizvan Huseynov said in an interview on the YouTube channel “Modern Conversation” that the result of Armenia’s parliamentary election may keep Pashinyan in power, but it does not remove the main obstacle in talks with Baku: Armenia’s constitutional and political claims linked to Azerbaijan.
According to Huseynov, Pashinyan’s party can form a government and move legislation through parliament. But the absence of a constitutional majority limits how far the Armenian leadership can go on issues that require deeper legal changes.
The central question, he said, is whether Armenia is ready to formally abandon territorial claims against Azerbaijan and Turkey.
“This affects the process,” Huseynov said. “One of the important conditions is that peace should work fully, de facto and de jure. That means giving up territorial claims against Azerbaijan and Turkey.”
He said the issue is closely tied to Armenia’s Constitution and the possible need for a referendum. In Huseynov’s view, Pashinyan may prefer to put the issue before the entire Armenian public rather than carry the responsibility alone.
That, he said, would fit Pashinyan’s earlier argument after the 44-day war, when the Armenian leader spoke of collective responsibility for the decisions that led the country into conflict and defeat.
“For Pashinyan, it is convenient that the responsibility for a referendum, whatever the result may be, is carried by the entire Armenian people,” Huseynov said.
The analyst warned that any attempt by Yerevan to turn the constitutional issue into a bargaining chip with Azerbaijan or Turkey could slow the process.
“If Pashinyan’s ruling party starts trading on this issue and tries to bargain with Azerbaijan, and first of all with Turkey, I do not think that would be the best option for Pashinyan,” he said.
Huseynov also linked the issue to regional transport projects, including the Zangezur route. He said progress on the route depends on a broader political settlement and the removal of legal and political barriers that continue to affect relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
According to him, the coming months will show whether Yerevan is prepared to clarify the referendum issue by autumn or whether it will push the matter into next year.
For Baku, the question is no longer only whether Pashinyan has won another election. The real issue is whether Armenia’s leadership is ready to turn political statements about peace into legally binding decisions.
Huseynov said Russia will also try to protect its own interests after the Armenian elections, using economic pressure, transit and energy as tools of influence. He argued that Moscow suffered a political setback in Armenia and will now seek guarantees from Yerevan.
Still, the main test for the peace process remains unchanged.
Pashinyan may have won the vote, but the legal foundation for a final peace with Azerbaijan has not yet been settled.
AZE.US