Pashinyan: Aliyev does not demand a rewrite, but will not sign the treaty as things stand
- Published
- Place
- Yerevan, Armenia
- Event date
- Past event —
Summary
At the MaskOFF discussion on 7 November 2026 in Yerevan, Nikol Pashinyan recounted what Ilham Aliyev had told him about Armenia’s Constitution. According to the prime minister, the Azerbaijani president accepts that changing the Constitution is Armenia’s internal affair and “does not raise that issue” with Yerevan; at the same time, Baku “does not want” to sign or ratify the peace agreement while the current constitutional provisions remain in force. Pashinyan stressed that the difference between those two formulations “may seem small” but is “in reality very large.” He recalled that Yerevan is not prepared to discuss the Constitution with any outside actor — “only and solely” with the Armenian people — and that the two countries have already initialled the peace agreement. His aim, he said, is to hand the younger generation an Armenia with recognised, open borders and a signed, ratified agreement.
Analysis
The distinction — Baku does not formally “demand” a revision, yet refuses to sign while the present text stands — puts constitutional reform at the centre of the peace timetable, while letting Yerevan say it rejects an external diktat. Armenia’s opposition, which sees the draft new Constitution as alignment with Baku, has already said it will resist. Without a domestic political deal on a referendum, the signature stays stuck on this disagreement.
Possible consequences
The next parliamentary debate and any referendum will show whether Yerevan unties this constitutional knot.
