Pashinian congratulated Armenians on the 29th anniversary of the adoption of their current constitution in a 1995 referendum. He claimed at the same time that it does not reflect their idea of “the rules of co-existence with their neighbor, their community and other residents of their state.”
“We need a new constitution which the people will consider to be what they created, what they accepted and believe that what is written in it is their idea of the state they created and the relations between people and citizens in that state,” he said in a two-page statement issued on the occasion of the public holiday.
Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev and other leaders have reiterated in recent weeks that the signing of a peace treaty with Armenia sought by Pashinian’s administration is conditional on a change of Armenia’s constitution. They claim that it contains territorial claims to Azerbaijan.
Baku specifically wants Yerevan to remove a constitutional reference to a 1990 declaration of independence which in turn cites a 1989 unification act adopted by the legislative bodies of Soviet Armenia and the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast. The only legal way to do that is to enact an entirely new constitution through a referendum.
Pashinian signaled the first step towards such a vote in late May when he ordered an ad hoc body set up by him to draft a new constitution by the end of 2026. Armenian opposition leaders and other critics have portrayed the move as further proof that Pashinian is bowing to yet another Azerbaijani demand. The prime minister and his political allies deny this.
Pashinian declared in January that Armenia needs a new constitution reflecting the “new geopolitical environment” in the region. He stated shortly afterwards that peace with Azerbaijan will be impossible as long as its existing basic law mentions the 1990 declaration.
A random street poll conducted in Yerevan by RFE/RL’s Armenian Service found little evidence in support of Pashinian’s claims that most Armenians feel disconnected from the constitution and crave for a new one.
“I think what Armenia needs is a good leadership,” said one woman. “Let that leadership decide whether a new constitution is needed or not.”
“The main thing is not the constitution but its implementation,” said another, male resident. “Suppose they write down something new on paper. So what?”
Another man linked Pashinian’s statement to the Azerbaijani demands. “Who is Aliyev to order us to change our constitution?” he said.