RA Prime Minister: The most important task for the Armenian authorities in the coming period will be the signing of a peace treaty with Azerbaijan

ArmInfo. The most important task for the Armenian authorities in the coming period will be the signing of a peace treaty with Azerbaijan. This was stated by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on November 2 during discussions of the draft state budget at a joint session of the National Assembly committees.

According to him, recently, when discussions about adopting a new Constitution intensified in the country, opposition representatives made several statements. After discussing these, the authorities concluded that, regardless of the justification for the causal consequences of these statements, they are nevertheless legitimate and should receive a concrete response. Specifically, this concerns statements regarding whether a peace treaty with Azerbaijan will be signed if a new Constitution is adopted, a comprehensive peace is established, and conflicts with Baku will become irrelevant. Pashinyan noted that the Armenian authorities' upcoming steps will be aimed at responding to these statements. "Our position has always been that all domestic issues are not discussed within the framework of foreign relations. But, consistently confronted with the questions constantly raised in Armenia, it can be argued that this is an issue we must actively address and obtain very specific answers to. In this regard, the situation is becoming extremely obvious and clear. If the ruling majority gives a clear and convincing answer on this issue, the overwhelming majority of the country's citizens will vote in favor of adopting a new Constitution, will go to the polls, and will vote 'yes' to the draft of the new Basic Law of the country," Pashinyan said.

He also emphasized that if the answers to all questions are exhaustive, but the parliamentary opposition still opposes the adoption of the Constitution, this would mean that it opposes the establishment of a final peace with Azerbaijan. In this case, public pressure will begin to build against the opposition, and the ruling majority must heed this pressure, provided, of course, there is public sentiment, which, in turn, will depend on the answers to all the questions raised by the opposition. When discussing the Constitution in the National Assembly, the ruling majority will need to have answers to most of the questions raised.

It should be noted that the Prime Minister previously stated that the Armenian government plans to publish a draft of the new Constitution in November of this year. Following the November publication of the text, extensive public debate will begin. The draft is being developed from scratch, not through partial amendments, and, according to Pashinyan, it should not contain references to the Declaration of Independence of Armenia. Baku is demanding amendments to the Armenian Constitution, claiming that the preamble, which refers to the Declaration of Independence, contains territorial claims. Yerevan claims there are no claims, but the authorities are considering the adoption of the new Basic Law in the context of unblocking the situation and signing a peace agreement. Pashinyan noted that Yerevan wants to clarify whether the adoption of a new constitution will be the final condition for a comprehensive peace with Azerbaijan.

The parliamentary opposition opposes constitutional amendments. The prime minister stated that if the opposition blocks the process, it will be seen as opposing peace, and he suggested various scenarios, including public pressure from the majority or holding early elections.