Changing constitution not discussed in peace talks, says Armenian Speaker of Parliament

The peace talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan don’t feature any discussions about changing the Armenian constitution, Speaker of Parliament Alen Simonyan has said.

“The peace treaty doesn’t contain any point about the constitution,” Simonyan told reporters. “And no such discussion exists. Discussions will continue about the two other articles, which [Azerbaijani FM] Bayramov mentioned,” he said, referring to a statement by Baku about two outstanding articles. 

“I think we should note that the fact that the other side is likewise noting that only two articles remain, which should be discussed, is very positive.”

Mentioning some earlier predictions about renewed hostilities after 2020 November 9, Simonyan said, “We were able to somehow manage and reach a point where we have over a dozen agreed upon articles. I think this is a very big victory for both sides. We have the first legal document signed between the two countries, which is an unprecedented thing in history,” Simonyan said, referring to the regulation on the joint activities of the border delimitation commissions.

“We have a delimitated border, an agreement and logic to continue that process. Indeed, I believe that this process has been positive. And I welcome the statement that we still have two articles around which discussions must continue,” the Speaker said.

Asked about the Azerbaijani demands on mutually withdrawing international lawsuits, Simonyan said the authorities are discussing it to understand whether such a logic would be beneficial. 

Simonyan said at this moment he doesn’t see the opportunity to include an article about the return of prisoners in the text of the peace treaty. “It is a separate issue that we’ve been dealing with constantly. We had over 150 prisoners, now we have 23 confirmed prisoners, 11 of whom are the military-political leadership of Karabakh,” the Speaker said.