Mirzoyan says no talks on Armenia’s constitution change

PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenia and Azerbaijan have not negotiated and are not negotiating any issues related to changes to Armenia’s Constitution, Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said during a session of the parliamentary foreign relations committee, responding to a question from opposition MP Kristine Vardanyan.

“There is no demand from Azerbaijan to change Armenia’s Constitution. When we say we cannot discuss the Constitution with you, as it is not a topic of Armenia-Azerbaijan negotiations, they say: very well, we are not negotiating it, we are not demanding it, it is your internal matter—but we inform you that as long as your Constitution contains these formulations, we are not going to sign (the peace agreement),” Mirzoyan said, according to Sputnik Armenia.

He recalled that Yerevan has repeatedly stated that if any issues are seen in Armenia’s Constitution, similar or even greater concerns could be identified in Azerbaijan’s Constitution.

The Armenian side continues to insist that resolving such issues and concerns should come through the signing and ratification of the peace agreement, which would eliminate all ambiguities.

Mirzoyan added that Armenia and Azerbaijan’s positions diverge on this matter and do not align. According to him, if they did align, the agreement might already have been signed and ratified. He noted that the issue of constitutional reform in Armenia had been raised much earlier but was postponed for various reasons.