Pashinyan Warns of Pressure on Opposition to Advance Constitution Changes Demanded by Azerbaijan

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan warned Monday that his ruling party could lead a public pressure campaign against opposition lawmakers who refuse to support a new Constitution, raising the stakes in a confrontation over changing Armenia’s fundamental law to meet a condition set by Azerbaijan.

Speaking in parliament on November 2, Pashinyan said such pressure could be justified if his government secures assurances that constitutional changes would deliver lasting peace with Azerbaijan and opposition lawmakers still block the process.

“In that case, the ruling majority must lead that pressure, provided, of course, that such public sentiment exists,” he said during discussions on Armenia’s 2027 state budget.

The warning comes as Pashinyan’s Civil Contract party lacks the votes to move the proposed Constitution to a national referendum. It needs six additional votes from outside its ranks, giving opposition lawmakers the power to stop the proposal from advancing.

Rather than announcing an agreement to secure those votes, Pashinyan raised the prospect of his ruling majority leading public pressure against lawmakers whose support he needs. His government has yet to release the constitutional draft or present the assurances it hopes to obtain from Azerbaijan.

At the center of the dispute is the Constitution’s reference to Armenia’s 1990 Declaration of Independence — a founding document that cites a 1989 decision on the unification of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh, known to Armenians as Artsakh.

Azerbaijan considers that reference a territorial claim and has refused to sign a peace agreement until Armenia removes it. The two countries initialed the agreement in Washington in August 2025, but it remains unsigned.

For Armenians following the negotiations at home and across the diaspora, the dispute concerns both the prospects for peace and whether Azerbaijan should be able to dictate changes to Armenia’s foundational documents.

Pashinyan maintains that replacing the Constitution is a domestic matter. His government has nevertheless confirmed that the new document will omit the reference to the Declaration of Independence.

Opposition parties have branded the proposal “Aliyev’s Constitution,” accusing Pashinyan of rewriting Armenia’s fundamental law to satisfy Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

Pashinyan said the draft would likely be published in November.

The prime minister acknowledged Monday that the opposition has legitimate questions about what Armenia would receive in return. He said the government must determine whether constitutional changes would secure Azerbaijan’s signature, whether the agreement would deliver comprehensive peace and whether it would prevent future disputes.

But he also signaled that, if those questions were answered positively, he would portray continued opposition as resistance to peace itself.

“If we receive clear positive answers to these questions, and it turns out that the parliamentary opposition is blocking the further process of adopting the new Constitution through its position, that will mean the opposition is against final and comprehensive peace with Azerbaijan,” he said.

Pashinyan did not explain what would constitute a credible guarantee or how his party would organize pressure against lawmakers.

Members of Civil Contract later said any assurances would come directly from Azerbaijan, without a third country’s involvement.

Volodya Hakobyan, secretary of the ruling party’s parliamentary faction, acknowledged that the government does not yet have a proposal capable of persuading opposition lawmakers.

“If there were such a proposal, we would make it today,” he told Azatutyun.

Opposition lawmakers responded by accusing Pashinyan of threatening parliament to overcome limits voters had placed on his power.

Gegham Manukyan of the Armenia Alliance pointed to the June parliamentary elections, in which Civil Contract failed to win the constitutional majority needed to advance a referendum on its own.

“Through the elections, the people have said that you cannot change the Constitution on your own,” he said.

Manukyan characterized Pashinyan’s remarks as talk of a “coup d’état” and argued that votes obtained through pressure would lack legitimacy.

“Under Armenian law, a vote conducted under pressure on members of parliament cannot be legitimate,” he said.

Armenia Alliance leader Anna Grigoryan had already said her faction would reject the proposal even if Pashinyan obtained a written promise from Azerbaijan to sign the peace agreement after a new Constitution was adopted.

Strong Armenia, the largest opposition faction with 29 lawmakers, also rejected the warning.

“Our track record shows that this is not the kind of language that can be used with us, and they will not achieve results,” faction secretary Tigran Abrahamyan said.

Asked whether six of its lawmakers could break ranks, Abrahamyan said he and fellow lawmaker Arega Hovsepyan were speaking for all 29 members.

He urged Pashinyan to fulfill his election promise of peace without first requiring constitutional changes.

“Nikol Pashinyan promised to bring peace before the elections, and he must fulfill that promise,” Abrahamyan said. “If a signed agreement had been presented, the vote would have been different.”

For now, the government has presented neither the proposed Constitution nor Azerbaijan’s promised assurances. But Pashinyan has already warned that lawmakers who stand in the way could face a pressure campaign led by the ruling party itself.

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