Pashinyan's ticking timer Yerevan’s constitutional game

In his speech at the ongoing international conference Yerevan Dialogue 2025, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan made an unexpected—one could even say sensational—statement regarding the country’s constitution. He declared that he would personally initiate amendments to Armenia’s fundamental law if the Constitutional Court did not approve the peace agreement with Azerbaijan.

“After signing the peace agreement, we must send it to our Constitutional Court to check its compliance with the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia. I mean, it isn't optional — it is compulsory. That document must be sent to the Constitutional Court. From that point, we have two options. One option is that if the Constitutional Court decides that the text of the agreement isn't compliant with our Constitution…, we will face a very concrete situation to decide upon. To be honest, in that case, the position of the Government of Armenia — and personally my position — would be to initiate constitutional amendments. This peace process and peace agreement must not be missed, and we will try to persuade our society to support such amendments in order to achieve sustainable and long-lasting peace,” Pashinyan stated.

This fresh and resolute statement by the Armenian Prime Minister could be interpreted as a positive signal, offering a glimmer of hope for the signing of a peace treaty in the foreseeable future. However, the likelihood of such a development appears highly questionable—primarily due to the inconsistent policies pursued by official Yerevan, especially amid the endless speculation surrounding the Armenian constitution.

The Armenian authorities’ recurring declarations of supposed readiness for peace with Azerbaijan lack credibility, given the stark discrepancy between their words and actions. At the same time, it is increasingly evident that the Armenian leadership has become entangled in its own political game, contradicting itself at every turn. A telling example of this is Nikol Pashinyan’s earlier remarks about the Armenian constitution, made in the Albanian capital, Tirana, in response to questions from an Azerbaijani correspondent.

“We do not yet have a draft for a new constitution, but we have analysed our constitution, we know the issues raised by Azerbaijan, and it is obvious that de jure, according to the decision of our Constitutional Court, our current constitution contains no territorial claims against our neighbours. This is already a legally established fact, and it is very important,” Nikol Pashinyan said at the time, endorsing the notorious decision of the Armenian Constitutional Court dated September 26, 2024.

It should be noted that the decision stated that “the reference to the Declaration of Independence in the preamble of the Constitution applies exclusively to those provisions of the Declaration that are enshrined in the articles of the Constitution.”

In other words, Pashinyan essentially echoed the statements made by the head of the Armenian Constitutional Court, Arman Dilanyan, in April of this year during an interview with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, where he claimed that Armenia’s fundamental law contains no territorial claims not only against Azerbaijan but against any other country, even calling Baku’s accusations “false.”

Paradoxically, in that same April, Nikol Pashinyan stated that the new Armenian constitution should not include any reference to the Declaration of Independence and even argued that the provisions of the Declaration of Independence, which form the basis of the current constitution, pose a threat of war to Armenia.

The manipulative game of the Armenian authorities is further confirmed by the following fact: although work is underway in Armenia on a draft for a new constitution, the Prime Minister’s circle does not provide a clear answer to the key question — whether the country’s main document will include a formal renunciation of Armenia’s claims to Karabakh.

Beyond the statements concerning the Armenian constitution, at Yerevan Dialogue 2025, Pashinyan once again spoke about Armenia’s commitment to peace, assuring that there will be no war between his country and Azerbaijan.

“I strongly believe that despite all arguments, all provocations and so on, there will be no war between Armenia and Azerbaijan, there will be peace, and this is unequivocal for me,” he said.

However, as we have already noted above, given Yerevan’s inconsistent policies, a reasonable question arises: “Will all these loud statements by Nikol Pashinyan be translated into practical reality, or is this yet another public performance aimed at misleading the international community?”

Arguably, today, the answer to this question is quite obvious. Due to an endless series of false promises from Yerevan about readiness for peace, Baku has strong reasons not to trust the grandiose statements of the Armenian authorities. Azerbaijan expects concrete actions from Armenia on fulfilling two key conditions of its peace agenda. So far, the Armenian side has not made the slightest progress on either of Baku’s demands.

Moreover, while the constitutional dilemma and the issue of dissolving the notorious OSCE Minsk Group remain unresolved, Yerevan continues active militarisation, and the Armenian Armed Forces regularly shell Azerbaijani positions along the conditional border.

Yet, apparently, none of these critical nuances prevent Pashinyan and his team from grandstanding about Armenia’s readiness for peace with Azerbaijan. Considering all these facts, there is little doubt about Yerevan’s decidedly unpeaceful approach.

Pashinyan’s statements are nothing but empty rhetoric, largely driven by a lack of genuine political will within the Armenian leadership.

It is also worth noting that the Prime Minister’s recent statements—that there will be no war and that he himself will personally amend the constitution—fit into the logic of the “real” Armenia concept he introduced in April last year, according to which Karabakh is recognized as part of Azerbaijan’s territory.

Recall that in June 2024, speaking in parliament, Nikol Pashinyan stated that Karabakh must be part of Azerbaijan, emphasising that the concept of “self-determination and the status of Karabakh” had been misunderstood by Armenian society.

Following this, in September of the same year, the Armenian leader, once again addressing the topic at the Second Global Armenian Summit, announced that official Yerevan had adopted the “real” Armenia concept as a necessary condition for the continuation of statehood.

However, things did not move beyond words. The subsequent actions of the Armenian authorities have shown that their loud declarations about Karabakh belonging to Azerbaijan are purely declarative and are not backed by concrete steps or measures. While officially promoting the concept of the “real” Armenia, Yerevan is, in reality, stuck in place, which is correspondingly delaying the signing of a peace agreement. At the same time, Pashinyan fully understands that without the necessary amendments to the Armenian constitution, a peace treaty is unlikely to materialise.

This is clearly underscored by the words of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, who stated at a joint press conference with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán: “Unfortunately, the Armenian side does not want to accept these two conditions yet. However, the events of recent years and the course of the processes show that sooner or later they will have to agree to our proposal.” This is an unequivocal message to Armenia that the Armenian authorities’ manipulations around the peace agreement will end in complete failure, and the time has come for a sober political decision to be made.

Meanwhile, Baku has already responded to Nikol Pashinyan’s statements made earlier today. “For lasting peace, Armenia must amend its Constitution to remove territorial claims and support the Minsk Group’s dissolution without preconditions. Azerbaijan’s conditions are not obstacles but legitimate steps to ensure regional peace and stability,” reads a statement from the Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Whether the Armenian Prime Minister will keep his promises this time—by legally enshrining Armenia’s renunciation of claims to Azerbaijani territories in the constitution—or once again shy away from real action, remains to be seen. But he would do well to remember: the timer is already ticking.