Armenpress. Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan has disclosed details from a recent closed meeting between Armenian and Azerbaijani officials.
Notably, he said that Azerbaijan has not put forth any preconditions regarding constitutional changes in Armenia, but has notified that it will not finalize the initialed peace deal as long as the current wording about Nagorno-Karabakh remains in the Constitution.
Mirzoyan emphasized that Armenia has reiterated to Azerbaijan that finalizing the initialed peace deal is the best way to put an end to all misinterpretations.
According to Mirzoyan, at the most recent closed meeting with the Azerbaijani side, Baku did not demand any changes to the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia.
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“When we say that we cannot discuss our Constitution with you because it is Armenia’s internal affair and not a subject for negotiations, they respond: ‘Very well, it is your internal matter, we will not negotiate it; we are simply informing you that as long as your Constitution contains these provisions, we are not prepared to finally sign the peace agreement.’ We take note of this and respond that it is regrettable, because we could also see many other issues, and the best solution would be the signing and ratification of the peace agreement, which would put an end to all misinterpretations,” the Foreign Minister explained in response to a question by opposition Armenia bloc MP Kristine Vardanyan at a parliamentary committee hearing.
Mirzoyan said this is the issue on which the two sides have diverging stances.
Azerbaijan has repeatedly accused Armenia of having what it describes as territorial claims in its Constitution through its preamble reference to the 1990 Declaration of Independence, which in turn mentions Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenia has denied that this reference constitutes territorial claims, and the country’s Constitutional Court has ruled that the mention in no way amounts to such claims. Armenian officials have stated that signing the initialed peace deal with Azerbaijan would resolve all of Azerbaijan’s concerns.
Meanwhile, the Pashinyan administration has initiated constitutional amendments, with work ongoing to develop the draft, but officials have emphasized that this is an unrelated internal matter that has been in the plans for many years.