During a press conference on August 31, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated that Azerbaijan accuses Armenia of that the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia contains territorial claims on Azerbaijan and that, unlike the Constitution of Armenia, the Constitution of Azerbaijan does contain territorial claims on Armenia.
“Azerbaijan makes other accusations against Armenia, saying that the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia contains a territorial claim on Azerbaijan. We disagree here, as their position is based on the fact that the preamble of the Constitution of Armenia makes a reference to the Declaration of Independence, and the Declaration of Independence makes a reference to the decision made in 1988 on the unification of Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia,” Pashinyan noted and added: “From the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution reflects what is written literally. What is not written literally, is not reflected in the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia. Moreover, if we refer to that decision, we should state that all the elections held in the Republic of Armenia took place on 29 thousand 743 square km territory of Armenia. There was no Armenian referendum, election, etc. in Nagorno-Karabakh.”
In the context of the Constitution, Nikol Pashinyan touched upon the Constitution of Azerbaijan and emphasized that the Constitution of Azerbaijan makes a reference to the 1991 act on state independence, and in that act reference is made to the declaration of independence of Azerbaijan on May 28, 1918.
“Furthermore, the act of independence states that today’s Azerbaijan is the legal successor of Azerbaijan of 1918-1920. While Azerbaijan’s 1918-1920 declaration states that South and East Transcaucasia are the territories of Azerbaijan. In the map presented by the Entente in 1919, Azerbaijan made claims on today’s Syunik and Vayots Dzor regions entirely, and Tavush, Gegharkunik, Ararat, Lori and Shirak regions partially. Unlike the Constitution of Armenia, based on this rationale, the Constitution of Azerbaijan does contain territorial claims on Armenia,” Pashinyan noted.
The Prime Minister also underscored: “Now we see that there are territorial claims on Armenia in the Constitution of Azerbaijan. Moreover, in the documents of Azerbaijan, which I mentioned, there is a wording that the territory of Azerbaijan is 108 thousand square km and after resolving the border issues with Armenia and Georgia, it will become 141 thousand square km. This means that according to this rationale, the Constitution of Azerbaijan contains territorial claim on another 45-46 sq. km.“
Commenting on Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s statements about Azerbaijan’s Constitution, Ayhan Hajizadeh, the Press Secretary of Azerbaijan’s MFA, said on August 31, “The claims that Azerbaijan’s Constitutional Act contains territorial claims on Armenia are absolutely wrong. In this matter, the attempt to draw parallels and create equality between the Constitution of Azerbaijan and the Constitution of Armenia is unacceptable. This argument of Armenia is not accepted by any international partner, and everyone knows that it is not serious. Unlike the Constitution of Armenia, the Constitutional Act on State Independence of 1991 and the Declaration of Independence of 1918, which are mentioned in the Constitution of Azerbaijan, do not contain territorial claims on Armenia. What territories were part of Azerbaijan during the First Republic and when they were included in Armenia are historical facts, and these facts cannot be denied. This in no way means that Azerbaijan’s legislation currently contains territorial claims on Armenia.”
And Hikmet Hajiyev, Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan, said on the same topic: “The Constitution of Azerbaijan has no territorial claims on any state, it is a document reflecting the fare will of the Azerbaijani people. We consider this comparison to be merely a pun. Therefore, our proposal to the Prime Minister and the political leadership of Armenia is to take steps instead of such puns to actually promote the peace agenda, to support the peace agenda with the participation of the states of the region.”
Fact Investigation Platform had previously studied the Constitution of Azerbaijan, and the legislative provisions and found therein direct territorial claims on Armenia.
The Constitution of Azerbaijan was adopted in 1995, which was created on the basis of the main principles of the Constitutional Act on the Independence of the Republic of Azerbaijan adopted in 1991. Pursuant to Article 2 of that Act, the Republic of Azerbaijan is the successor of the existing Republic of Azerbaijan of 1918-1920. The same Constitutional Act states that it is based on the principles of the Declaration of Independence adopted by the National Council of Azerbaijan on May 28, 1918. The first clause of the Declaration states: “Henceforth, the Azerbaijani people are recognized as the holder of sovereign rights, and Azerbaijan, including the Eastern and Southern Transcaucasia, is recognized as a fully independent state.”
According to the administrative territorial division presented to the Entente countries in November 1919, Azerbaijan had claims on a significant part of the territories of Armenia, including the territories of present-day Armenia: Syunik, Vayots Dzor, as well as Ararat, Armavir, Gegharkunik, Tavush, Lori, and Shirak regions.
In November 1920, in the League of Nations, the Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan claimed a territory of 108 thousand square kilometers, adding that after solving the border issues with Armenia and Georgia, that territory will become 141 thousand square kilometers. Already in December, the 5th Commission of the League of Nations rejected Azerbaijan’s claim.
Thus, despite the assertions from Baku that there are no territorial ambitions towards Armenia in their Constitution, there is a reference in the Constitution of Azerbaijan to the Declaration of Independence of 1918, according to which Azerbaijan’s borders also include territories from neighboring countries.
Syuzanna Hambardzumyan