{"id":61553,"date":"2026-04-21T11:31:45","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T07:31:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/?p=61553"},"modified":"2026-04-21T11:31:45","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T07:31:45","slug":"pashinyan-new-constitution-independence-declaration-link","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/pashinyan-new-constitution-independence-declaration-link\/","title":{"rendered":"Pashinyan Defines New Constitution Without Independence Link"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"background:#f7fafc;padding:15px;border-left:4px solid #3b82f6;\">\n<p><strong>Quick Read<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Pashinyan demands removal of Independence Declaration reference from new constitution.<\/li>\n<li>Parliament requires a two-thirds majority to advance the constitutional draft to a referendum.<\/li>\n<li>Government frames the change as a pragmatic step to secure peace and define state boundaries.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p>Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has issued a definitive stance on the proposed constitutional reforms in Armenia, asserting that any new draft must explicitly omit references to the 1990 Declaration of Independence. Speaking in a recent public broadcast, the Prime Minister framed this constitutional shift as a vital necessity for the state\u2019s long-term security, arguing that maintaining the current foundational link to the Declaration effectively keeps the Karabakh movement alive, thereby complicating peace efforts with Azerbaijan.<\/p>\n<h2>Reframing the Foundational Legal Narrative<\/h2>\n<p>The government\u2019s push for a new constitution centers on the belief that the existing legal framework, which invokes the Declaration of Independence and its implicit aspirations for territorial expansion, serves as a barrier to sovereign stability. Pashinyan emphasized that by decoupling the constitution from these historical documents, Armenia can neutralize external narratives regarding &#8220;Western Azerbaijan&#8221; or &#8220;Eastern Turkey&#8221; that have historically fueled regional tensions. This move represents a significant departure from the post-Soviet legal tradition in Armenia, signaling an attempt to anchor the state solely in its current internationally recognized borders.<\/p>\n<h2>Institutional Accountability and Public Mandate<\/h2>\n<p>National Assembly Speaker Alen Simonyan has defended the initiative against domestic criticism, insisting that these changes are designed exclusively for Armenia\u2019s survival and future, rather than as a concession to foreign demands. The process, however, faces significant procedural hurdles. The government requires a two-thirds majority in parliament to move the draft to a national referendum. While the drafting process continues, the administration has signaled a persistent commitment to the project, with Pashinyan suggesting that if the public rejects an initial version, the government would be prepared to initiate subsequent referendums until a consensus is reached.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The proposed constitution aims to remove the legal link to the 1990 Declaration of Independence to clarify territorial boundaries.<\/li>\n<li>Parliamentary approval requires a two-thirds majority, with the government signaling a long-term commitment to the reform process.<\/li>\n<li>The administration argues that this shift is essential to prevent the resurgence of regional conflicts linked to historical rhetoric.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em>Ultimately, the move underscores a profound ideological pivot for the Armenian state. By prioritizing a pragmatic, border-centric legal identity over the expansive aspirations enshrined in the foundational post-Soviet era documents, the government is testing the limits of its democratic mandate. While the administration frames this as a necessary step for peace, the success of such a shift depends on its ability to convince a skeptical public that abandoning historical symbols does not equate to the erosion of national sovereignty, but rather the construction of a more secure and predictable future within the current international order.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan confirms a new Armenian constitution will exclude references to the 1990 Declaration of Independence to secure regional peace.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":-1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"googlesitekit_rrm_CAow5Nm1DA:productID":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[31,26394,7061],"class_list":["post-61553","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-armenia","tag-constitution","tag-pashinyan"],"featured_image_url":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/pashinyan-constitutional-reform-statement.jpg","_embedded":{"wp:featuredmedia":[{"id":-1,"source_url":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/pashinyan-constitutional-reform-statement.jpg","media_type":"image","mime_type":"image\/jpeg"}]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61553","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61553"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61553\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":61554,"href":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61553\/revisions\/61554"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61553"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61553"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61553"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}