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Armenia should hold referendum, remove territorial claims against Azerbaijan from its Constitution - MP Erkin Gadirli

Erkin Gadirli, Member of Parliament of the Republic of Azerbaijan

10 December 2024 11:31 (UTC +04:00)

"Official Yerevan refers to the first article of the Declaration of Independence when reporting to European institutions. In some international procedures, they attempt to present Garabagh as part of Armenia's territory and seek to have this accepted," Member of Azerbaijan's Parliament Erkin Gadirli said during the event titled "Key obstacles to signing a Peace Agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia," APA reports.

"There is a reference to the Declaration of Independence in Armenia's Constitution and it includes territorial claims against Azerbaijan. It demands the combining of the former Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region to Armenia. Armenia does not abandon its claims that Garabagh is supposedly part of its territory. Official Yerevan refers to the first article of the Declaration of Independence when reporting to European institutions. In some international procedures, they attempt to present Garabagh as part of Armenia's territory and seek to have this accepted. The reference to the Declaration of Independence in the preamble of Armenia's Constitution is currently a very complex issue," Erkin Gadirli emphasized.

The MP noted that while Armenia's Constitution outlines the procedures for amending its articles, there is no provision for changing the preamble: "The Constitutional Court of Armenia consistently refers to the inadmissibility of amending the preamble. With this stance, Armenia has put itself in a difficult position. When France adopted its Constitution in 1958, it kept the 1946 Constitution in force. However, Armenia should not follow this example. I believe that amendments to Armenia's Constitution would be a positive case. Armenian side can annul the Declaration itself. If official Yerevan does so, the preamble would also become invalid. However, I disagree with this as well. Armenia should hold a referendum and remove provisions in its Constitution that include territorial claims against Azerbaijan."