Op-ed: Armenia needs a constitutional referendum to move forward

Armenia today finds itself trapped in a constitutional dilemma that is shaping the entire trajectory of its fragile peace process with Azerbaijan. At the center of the dispute lies a single reference in the Armenian constitution: a link to the 1990 Declaration of Independence. The declaration, drafted in the tumult of the Soviet collapse, contains explicit territorial claims to Karabakh that now hang like an anchor on Armenia's future. For Baku, this isn't a symbolic quibble. Azerbaijan argues that as long as Armenia's supreme legal document contains language that contradicts Azerbaijan's territorial integrity, coexistence cannot be genuine and peace cannot be guaranteed. Its condition for moving forward is straightforward: remove the reference. [ . . . ] Without a referendum, peace risks being perceived as fragile and contingent solely on the current government in Yerevan, vulnerable to reversal with any change in leadership, whereas a decision endorsed by the Armenian people through nationwide vote would carry credibility that demonstrates genuine societal commitment to transformation rather than mere tactical maneuvering.
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