Armenia Responds to Azerbaijan’s Calls to Dissolve OSCE Minsk Group and Amend Its Constitution

YEREVAN – The Armenian Foreign Ministry has addressed Azerbaijan’s demands to dissolve the OSCE Minsk Group and amend the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia.

“The Republic of Armenia has expressed at the highest level its willingness to consider the dissolution of the OSCE Minsk Group. However, Armenia seeks assurances that this would mark the de facto and de jure end of the conflict, rather than shifting it to the territory of the Republic of Armenia under the so-called ‘Western Azerbaijan’ narrative,” Armenian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ani Badalyan stated in an interview with Armenpress.

She noted that the Armenian Constitutional Court’s ruling on September 26, 2024, clearly affirmed that Armenia’s Constitution does not contain territorial claims against any country.

“On the contrary, Armenia believes that it is Azerbaijan’s Constitution that includes territorial claims against Armenia. However, we also believe that the finalized text of the peace treaty resolves this issue. Why? Because the finalized text stipulates that Armenia and Azerbaijan recognize each other’s territorial integrity within the borders of the former Soviet republics, do not have territorial claims against each other, and commit to refraining from making such claims in the future,” Badalyan explained.

She further emphasized that the agreement explicitly states that neither party can cite their domestic legislation as grounds for failing to uphold the treaty’s terms.

“As a reminder, Article 5 of the Armenian Constitution states: ‘In case of a conflict between the norms of international treaties ratified by the Republic of Armenia and those of domestic laws, the norms of international treaties shall apply.’ This means that Armenia’s Constitution cannot be cited as an obstacle to signing the peace agreement. On the contrary, signing the agreement is the most effective way to address constitutional concerns,” Badalyan added.

He reiterated that Armenia’s Constitution does not include territorial claims against Azerbaijan or any other country, whereas Azerbaijan’s Constitution contains territorial claims against Armenia.