Armenia and Azerbaijan are rebuilding economic ties, including the resumption of Azerbaijani oil product supplies to Armenia, even as a constitutional dispute continues to delay the signing of a comprehensive peace treaty between the two countries.
Trade and diplomatic contacts have expanded despite the absence of a formal agreement, reflecting what has been described as a “real peace.” At the same time, negotiations on a final treaty remain stalled over Azerbaijan’s demand that Armenia first amend its constitution.
Baku objects to the preamble of Armenia’s constitution, which references a Soviet-era declaration calling for the reunification of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan argues that the language amounts to an implicit territorial claim over Azerbaijani sovereign territory and has made its removal a prerequisite for signing a peace accord.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan plans to hold a popular referendum to draft and adopt a revised constitution removing the disputed wording. However, the timetable remains uncertain because Pashinyan’s party does not have the parliamentary majority needed to advance the referendum smoothly.
The constitutional dispute persists even as relations between the countries continue to improve in other areas. Direct contacts have increased, and practical economic cooperation has resumed, including the restoration of Azerbaijani oil product deliveries to Armenia after years of conflict.
The disagreement traces back to the long-running dispute over the mountainous enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh. Decades of conflict culminated in a rapid Azerbaijani offensive in 2023 that dissolved the ethnic Armenian breakaway region and forced more than 100,000 residents to flee.
Although a final peace treaty has yet to be signed, the restoration of trade and expanding diplomatic engagement indicate continued movement toward normalization. For now, however, the constitutional issue remains the principal obstacle preventing the formal conclusion of a comprehensive peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
