“The Republic of Armenia needs a new constitution, not constitutional changes,” Pashinian told senior officials from the Armenian Ministry of Justice.
“We must have a constitution that will make Armenia more competitive and viable in the new geopolitical and regional environment,” he said.
Pashinian did not elaborate on the content of the new constitution sought by him, saying only that it should not change Armenia’s parliamentary system of government. But he emphasized the country’s “external security” and “internationally recognized sovereign territory” in that context.
Some Armenian analysts were quick to suggest that Pashinian is simply keen to fulfill more demands voiced by Azerbaijan. One of them, Tigran Grigorian, singled out safeguards against Armenian “revanchism” demanded by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in December.
A preamble to the current Armenian constitution enacted in 1995 and repeatedly amended afterwards makes reference to a 1990 declaration of independence adopted by the republic’s first post-Communist parliament. The declaration in turn refers to a 1989 unification act adopted by the legislative bodies of Soviet Armenia and the then Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast. It also called for international recognition of the 1915 genocide of Armenians “in Ottoman Turkey and Western Armenia.”
Pashinian criticized the declaration last August, saying that it fomented the conflicts with Azerbaijan and Turkey and is now at odds with his “peace agenda.” The Armenian opposition denounced that statement as pro-Turkish and pro-Azerbaijani.
Pashinian said that the idea of enacting a new constitution is also supported by “a number of our partners.” He did not name them.
Pashinian has repeatedly called for major changes to the Armenian constitution during his nearly six-year rule. He has made conflicting statements about which articles of the constitution he believes should be amended.
Two years ago, he set up a new body tasked with coordinating the constitutional reform process. The body now headed by Justice Minister Grigor Minasian has still not drafted any constitutional amendments. Minasian said on January 8 that it will come up with a “concept” for constitutional reform in the next few months.
Pashinian’s meeting with Minasian and other Ministry of Justice officials held on Thursday was also attended by Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigorian. The latter represents Yerevan in periodical talks with Baku on the delimitation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.