Nikol Pashinyan has called on his ruling majority to lead public pressure against opposition lawmakers if they refuse to support a referendum on a new Constitution, as Azerbaijan continues to make constitutional changes a condition for signing a peace agreement.
Speaking in parliament on November 2, Pashinyan said that if assurances were obtained that a new Constitution would secure the agreement, opposition to the referendum would amount to opposition to peace with Azerbaijan.
“In that case, public pressure on the opposition will undoubtedly build, and I believe that the ruling majority should lead that pressure,” he said.
Pashinyan’s ruling “Civil Contract” party cannot authorize the referendum alone. Under Armenia’s Constitution, the decision requires at least 71 votes in the 107-seat National Assembly, meaning the party needs at least six opposition votes.
Both opposition factions have refused. On October 30, “Armenia” faction leader Anna Grigoryan said public pressure would not change her faction’s position and warned that constitutional changes might not prevent further demands from Baku.
On October 29, Pashinyan had also raised the prospect of public pressure to secure opposition votes.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has insisted on constitutional changes before signing the peace agreement initialed in Washington on August 8, 2025. Baku objects to the Constitution’s preamble, which refers to the 1990 Declaration of Independence. The declaration cites a 1989 decision on the reunification of Armenia and Artsakh. Azerbaijan interprets this as a territorial claim, a reading disputed by Armenian officials.
Pashinyan said the draft Constitution would be published in November. The agreement remains unsigned, and no binding Azerbaijani commitment has been made public guaranteeing that constitutional changes would be its final condition.
