In Advancing a New Constitution Pashinyan Says Peace Must Come First Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, once again, described Armenia’s Declaration of Independence as an “anti-state text,” arguing that abandoning its ideology is in the country’s national interest. Speaking to reporters after a cabinet meeting on Thursday, Pashinyan said Armenia’s new Constitution should be based on a vision for longevity of the state, adding that establishing institutional and irreversible peace is his top priority as prime minister. “The number one, number two and number three missions that I must accomplish as Prime Minister of Armenia is to establish peace and make it institutional,” he said, adding that he would pursue this goal relentlessly. Pashinyan stressed that the peace agreement with Azerbaijan must be signed and ratified, saying Armenia’s challenge is to turn the current period of peace into decades and eventually centuries of stability. Asked whether constitutional changes would guarantee the signing and ratification of the peace agreement, Pashinyan said he could not yet provide a definitive answer, as it depended on factors beyond the Armenian government’s sovereign authority. He said he would be prepared to guarantee the outcome and stake his political credibility and mandate on it only once he had received sufficiently reliable assurances. Pashinyan did not specify the “factors” he pointed out, but presumably it lies with Azerbaijan and its president, Ilham Aliyev. Pashinyan added that if such a guarantee were established, voting against the new Constitution would amount to voting against peace. Pashinyan also threatened to generate “strong public pressure” on the two main opposition groups and bar them from possible snap parliamentary elections if they continue to reject his draft of a new Armenia constitution demanded by Azerbaijan. “If the opposition decides to vote against it, a political process will ensue,” Pashinyan told reporters. “Something quite unusual will happen. Typically, it’s the opposition that holds protests in front of parliament. But this time, it might be the authorities who hold a protest.” “If this scenario also fails, we will head to snap elections on the condition that there is a 100 percent guarantee that the current parliamentary opposition will not be in the next parliament,” he said. The draft constitution needs to be backed by at least two-third of the Armenian parliament’s deputies before it can be put on a referendum. Both the opposition Armenia and Strong Armenia alliances have repeatedly said that none of their lawmakers will vote for the still unpublicized document which they say is imposed on Armenia by Baku. A senior Strong Armenia lawmaker, Aram Vartevanyan, insisted instead that Baku would hardly sign a peace treaty with Yerevan even if Pashinian were to succeed in enacting the new constitution. During the Armenian government’s question-and-answer session in the parliament on Wednesday, Vartevanyan asked Pashinyan and Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan whether they can guarantee that the change of the constitution is indeed the last remaining Azerbaijani precondition. “I don’t have an answer to that question today because that answer lies beyond Armenia’s sovereign territory and the Armenian government’s powers,” Pashinyan replied, hinting at Azerbaijan’s leadership. “When I get the answer to that question I will come out and make clear whether or not I guarantee that.” In vague remark, Mirzoyan said that while the issue of the constitution has not been discussed during peace talks, Azerbaijan has made it clear that without such a change, it would not sign a peace treaty. He concluded that in order to sign a peace treaty, the ratification of a new constitution would be mandatory. Pashinyan claimed on Thursday that the very fact that Strong Armenia is inquiring about such a guarantee indicates a softening of its opposition to the new constitution. He said it also reduces the likelihood of fresh general elections threatened by him last week. The two opposition alliances said on October 23 that they are undaunted by his threats. The post Armenia’s Declaration of Independence ‘Anti-State,’ Pashinyan Declares appeared first on Asbarez.com .