Armenia’s constitutional push and Zangezur Corridor Pashinyan’s double game

This week, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, in a conversation with journalists in the country's parliament, once again addressed issues related to the settlement of relations between Baku and Yerevan. In particular, he mentioned that Armenia had received the 12th package of proposals for a peace agreement from Azerbaijan, noting that two articles of the draft document remain unresolved.

According to Pashinyan, "Baku has not officially responded to Yerevan's proposal regarding the unblockage, made back in the end of last year, which concerns the restoration of the railway."

"I often analyze and think about why Azerbaijan should give a negative response, and an objective analysis shows that there are no grounds for refusal," said the Armenian prime minister, expressing Armenia's readiness to allow Baku to use the Nakhchivan route under the same conditions as Iran.

"Armenia is ready to open the road from mainland Azerbaijan to Nakhchivan based on the same principle as the road through Iran. However, in this case, Yerevan is ready to go for additional simplification of the road's operational regime on a mutual basis," said Pashinyan.

By the way, this is not the first time Nikol Pashinyan has made statements of this nature. In January of last year, during a government meeting in the Armenian National Assembly and at the CIS Heads of State Summit in Moscow, Pashinyan stated that Armenia was ready to provide Baku with a transport route to Nakhchivan under the same conditions as Iran does. At the same time, he emphasized that Armenia was prepared to fully ensure the security of goods, vehicles, and people passing through its territory. 

Pashinyan's assurances followed strong messages from President Ilham Aliyev. On January 10, 2024, in an interview with local TV channels, responding to a question about the Zangezur corridor, the President of Azerbaijan clearly stated: "People and goods should pass from Azerbaijan to Azerbaijan, as I said, without any inspections. Otherwise, Armenia will remain an eternal deadlock."

"If the route [Zangezur corridor] I mentioned is not opened, we are not going to open our border with Armenia anywhere else. So, they will do themselves more harm than good," President Aliyev warned.

Despite Pashinyan's rather vague statements, it is undeniable that Aliyev's messages were heard in Yerevan. The Armenian leader declared that "Armenia has never signed any document that diminishes or ignores the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country." It is easy to guess that this statement by Pashinyan is aimed solely at the domestic audience and aligns with the ideology of the "real Armenia" project, according to which the territory of Armenia is 29,743 square kilometers.

Last week, Nikol Pashinyan informed the Armenian people about the importance of adopting the constitution through a referendum.

"The real Armenia is the Armenia recognized by the international community, with an area of 29,743 square kilometers. For this system, the adoption of a new constitution through a nationwide referendum is crucial, as all previous constitutional referendums have a serious lack of legitimacy. The strategic goal of adopting a new constitution is the transition from the residual image of a nation without statehood to the image of a state-building people," said Pashinyan.

It is evident that the Armenian prime minister is trying to gain broad public support for the adoption of a new Armenian Constitution, which may exclude territorial claims against Azerbaijan. However, alongside his loud statements about Armenia supposedly being ready to fully ensure the security of goods, vehicles, and people passing through its territory, Pashinyan is attempting to accuse Azerbaijan of delaying the negotiation process and unwillingness to make mutual concessions regarding the Zangezur corridor. This is in an effort to impose the image of Armenia as a peacekeeping country on the international community.

Pashinyan is well aware that Azerbaijan, by restoring its territorial integrity and sovereignty, has simultaneously shown the world the true nature of Armenia as an aggressor state.

Therefore, it is no coincidence that, when asked whether he sees the threat of war, Pashinyan responded: "My assessment is that there is neither a reason, nor a precondition, nor a basis for war or escalation in the region."

In turn, Azerbaijan has every reason not to trust Pashinyan's statements, especially considering the recent militarization of Yerevan. Just last week, the Star newspaper reported that Armenia had committed to purchasing weapons from India worth an additional 660 million dollars. Furthermore, Yerevan has significantly intensified military cooperation with the United States and France, which raises doubts about the sincerity of Armenia's peace efforts.

Therefore, before claiming that Yerevan has made proposals to Baku that are acceptable to both Armenia and Azerbaijan, Nikol Pashinyan should address the constitutional issue and not obstruct the opening of the Zangezur corridor. For now, all his statements are perceived in Baku as nothing more than empty words.