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.
