Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan made a televised address in which, in essence, he outlined his political program. The main idea is that the interests of the state and its residents should come first, not the interests of the Armenian nation scattered around the world. Simply put, Armenia should become more important than Armenians. For this purpose, in particular, it is proposed to change the constitution, a new version of the document will be developed within a year, and then a referendum will be held. Details - in the material of "Izvestia".
Bread and Law
"Our ideology of real Armenia identifies the homeland with the internationally recognized state - the Republic of Armenia, and patriotism - with the interests of this state," Nikol Pashinyan stressed in his video address to the people.
According to him, this approach will lead to the growth of citizens' welfare. "Satisfying primary human needs is a priority. Discourses about bread, money, wealth and good life are unusual for our political life; they may be regarded as a rejection of "high politics". However, politics based on 'high values' sometimes overlooks the most important thing: people and their everyday needs," he said.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan
To triumph the new principle, Pashinyan proposes to hold a popular vote and change the Armenian Constitution. According to him, the current version of the document is not fully legitimate in public perception. "The strategic goal of adopting a new constitution is the transition from the relic behavior of a state-deprived nation to the order of the state-forming people," he explained.
Afterwards, the country's Justice Minister Srboui Galian gave some details of the possible reform. According to her, the model of governance in the country will not change, Armenia will remain a parliamentary republic. At the same time, the new version of the constitution will pay more attention to human rights, and the powers of the law enforcement agencies will be more clearly delineated. The full text of the new constitution will be elaborated by the parliamentary elections in 2026, and then a referendum will be held.
"The people will turn into a tribe"
The Armenian constitution has long been criticized by Azerbaijan and Turkey. The thing is that the current version of the document refers to the country's Declaration of Independence, and in it it says about the desire for reunification with Karabakh and international recognition of the Armenian genocide in the Ottoman Empire. Both of these provisions are very much disliked by Baku and Ankara.
For example, Azerbaijani leader Ilham Aliyev said that without changing the constitution, signing a peace treaty was out of the question. "In the constitution there is a reference to the declaration, which in turn contains territorial claims to Azerbaijan. Changing the constitution is not our whim, but simply an objective condition," he noted, adding that fascist ideology has dominated Armenia for 30 years and must be eradicated.
Nagorno-Karabakh
In this regard, the Armenian opposition says that Pashinyan's stories about the growth of citizens' welfare are actually a fiction, he is just trying to please Baku and Ankara. Thus, the country's former ombudsman Arman Tatoyan writes that the foundations of real Armenia were laid in 1990-1991, no other Armenia exists. "Pashinyan offers a deal to Ankara and Baku: power in exchange for turning the country into an Azerbaijani sub-state entity. Our people in such conditions will turn into an artificially created tribe," he says.
Arman Abovyan, a former member of the Armenian parliament, believes that the current authorities are actually carrying out the Turkish-Azerbaijani tandem's order to liquidate Armenian statehood. According to him, a certain "velvet protectorate" should appear in the place of present-day Armenia. Abovyan notes that beautiful words and projects are meant to hide the movement in this direction. "Of course, Pashinyan will not say that his 'idea' is just a continuation of the policy to destroy the country," he notes.
Levon Zurabyan, deputy chairman of the Armenian National Congress party, emphasizes that no one has clearly said why the constitution actually needs to be changed and how it will help the welfare of citizens grow. "The only reason is Aliyev's ultimatum. Pashinyan will still not get the very 'cadastral document' - the peace treaty he is looking for so much," he says.
The ruling party denies acting under the influence of external forces. Secretary of the country's Security Council Armen Grigoryan said that amendments to the basic law began to be discussed as early as 2020, that is, long before the final loss of Karabakh. At the same time, Justice Minister Srboui Galian admitted that there may not be a reference to the Declaration of Independence in the new version: "I don't rule anything out, we don't have a final decision yet. In any case, nothing will change from the presence or absence of today's wording in real life."
What experts say
Political scientist Tigran Kocharyan believes that the Armenian authorities are trying to camouflage the fulfillment of the Azerbaijani ultimatum with beautiful words.
- The big question is how the preparation for the referendum will be conducted and what the result of the vote will be. Polls show that at the moment the idea to rewrite the basic law is not popular. It is quite possible that Pashinyan will conduct a campaign coordinated with Baku, within the framework of which Azerbaijan will at some point organize provocations or escalate the situation on the border in order to intimidate Armenian voters so that they still vote in favor of making changes," he emphasizes.
Alexander Krylov, Chief Researcher of the Caucasus Sector of the Center for Post-Soviet Studies at the IMEMO RAS, believes that it is not only Azerbaijan's and Turkey's pressure.
- There is also an internal political dimension. The fact is that parliamentary elections are approaching in Armenia. The incumbent authorities probably want to sell the idea of changing the constitution to their voters as a great achievement that will bring peace and prosperity. It is hard to say what the reaction to this will be. At the end of March, the second largest city in the country, Gyumri, will hold city council elections. They will probably be a kind of litmus test," he says.
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