BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 9. Constitutional amendment in Armenia can accelerate the peace process, Azerbaijani political analyst Azer Garayev told Trend.
Commenting on the Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov's statement that the peace agreement could be signed the next day after the elimination of the territorial claims in the Armenian Constitution, the analyst evaluated this announcement as an important political message regarding the peace process between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
"The minister's statement that 'the peace agreement can be signed the next day after the territorial claims in the Armenian Constitution are eliminated' indicates that Azerbaijan doesn't intend to create additional delays if the legal obstacle is removed. Here, the expression 'the next day' has a figurative meaning and emphasizes that the agreement is ready to be signed from a technical and political point of view," Garayev explained.
He noted that Azerbaijan has long stated that some provisions of the 1990 Declaration of Independence, referred to in the preamble to the Armenian Constitution, can be assessed as territorial claims against Azerbaijan.
"Official Baku believes that as long as such legal references remain in force, a situation contrary to the spirit of the peace agreement may arise in the future, and new political and legal disputes may arise. That's why Azerbaijan believes that this issue should be fully resolved in the basic law of Armenia before signing the peace agreement.
The minister's opinion that 'Azerbaijan has more than fulfilled all the tasks assigned to it' shows that official Baku, from its point of view, considers that it has fulfilled the obligations it assumed during the negotiation process. In this regard, Azerbaijan is now demonstrating that it's waiting for the next step from Armenia.
His words that 'We also have our own expectations' are a continuation of this position. That is, Azerbaijan's expectation is for Armenia to bring its legal framework into line with the principles of the peace agreement. Bayramov pointed out that Armenia announced that it will not refer to the previous Independence Act in the new Constitutional Act. If this change is realized, according to Azerbaijan, the main legal obstacle to the signing of the peace agreement will be removed," Garayev mentioned.
The analyst noted that this also shows that the parties have largely agreed on the text of the peace agreement, and the dispute is mainly focused on this legal-political issue.
"From the minister's statement, it can be concluded that Azerbaijan doesn't see the need for long-term additional negotiations after the issue of the Constitution is resolved. For this reason, the expression 'the next day' suggests that the signing of the agreement may be possible in a very short time.
However, this requires Armenia to implement constitutional reforms, complete internal legal procedures, and then the parties move to the signing stage," Garayev said.
The analyst emphasized that the minister's statement once again confirms Azerbaijan's position.
"Official Baku believes that there is a basic political agreement for signing a peace agreement, and the decisive issue at present is the elimination of provisions in the Armenian Constitution that are considered territorial claims against Azerbaijan. According to Azerbaijan's position, if this step is taken, there will be no serious obstacle to signing a peace agreement, and the process can be completed in a very short time," he added.
