Apostol APOSTOLOV, journalist
On June 7, 2026, parliamentary elections were held in Armenia, as a result of which the ruling party of the incumbent Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, the "Civil Contract" party, retained its leading position, receiving 49.81% of the vote. However, the result below 50% makes the victory incomplete. Pashinyan retained his power, but did not receive the so-called “Constitutional majority”, which means enough votes for possible changes to the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia.
The introduction of amendments to the Constitution is the most important political element for the final peaceful settlement and development of relations between Baku and Yerevan. The reason is that the preamble of the current Constitution mentions the “Declaration of Independence“, which mentions among the goals of the republic the unification of the former Armenian SSR with (Nagorno-Karabakh). It is this Karabakh that from the beginning of the 1990s of the twentieth century and until 2023 was unequivocally recognized by the UN Security Council as an illegally occupied territory of Azerbaijan.
In other words, using the preamble of the current Constitution, the revanchist circles in the Armenian political elite could easily initiate a new stage of the regional conflict in the South Caucasus. Then, through propaganda media, they could impose the thesis that there was a certain legitimate basis for such actions in Armenian legislation. However, the revanchist movement in Armenia, which openly enjoys the support of Moscow, suffered a defeat in the elections.
The Kremlin and the preservation of instability
Pro-Russian billionaire Samvel Karapetyan, whose party “Strong Armenia” is second, and ex-president (2000-2008) Robert Kocharyan with the “Armenia” bloc, in third place, are deprived of the opportunity to restart relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Their idea was to begin militarization of the country and openly prepare for a new war against Azerbaijan. However, they can and will do everything necessary to prevent the “Pashinyan” cabinet from carrying out the constitutional reform. The reason is that the main beneficiary of the potential new instability in the Caucasus is the Kremlin.
A peace treaty between Azerbaijan and Armenia is in the interest of the countries in the region, as well as Turkey, the European Union and the United States. On the other hand, Moscow, which has played the role of geopolitical arbiter in the region for three decades, will lose the remnants of its influence.
“For decades, the Russian Federation has kept the conflict in a frozen state, using its military presence and its role as a mediator to put pressure on both Armenia and Azerbaijan“, commented the British newspaper The Financial Times in August 2025.
It is for this reason that Putin's administration has ordered the propaganda media to present the election results in Armenia as a “loss“ for the pro-Western Pashinyan. Moscow has ordered the media to focus solely on the fact that the Armenian Prime Minister's party did not reach the 50% threshold in the elections. An employee of one of the leading Moscow media outlets loyal to the Kremlin told the independent Russian-language publication Meduza about this.
It is easy to predict that pro-Russian officials in the South Caucasus and the EU, as well as numerous "useful idiots", will soon begin to insistently call for the signing of peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia "in its current form". Without carrying out the corresponding constitutional reforms. Behind the seemingly peaceful packaging of such slogans, one can already recognize the Kremlin's strategy, the goal of which is to continuously create chaos in the region, traditionally falling within the sphere of Russian interests.
It is important for international experts and the free international community to remember that the peace treaty in the South Caucasus is not limited to the normalization of relations between Nikol Pashinyan and the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev. It should represent a restart of relations between two peoples who have chosen the path of cooperation, openness and prosperity.
And the issue is not limited to the danger of a new war in the region. Without the signing of a full-fledged peace treaty and without the adoption of constitutional changes, it is impossible to unblock regional communications. The leaders of Azerbaijan Aliyev and Turkey - Recep Tayyip Erdogan - have repeatedly spoken on this issue. It is precisely the “opening“ of the region represents the most direct path to economic prosperity and a real reorientation of Armenia from Russia to Europe.
Constitutional reform is the path to economic growth
Nikol Pashinyan has repeatedly demonstrated that he understands and accepts the need for changes to the Constitution of Armenia. His quote is well known, in which he compares Armenia to a man dressed in red clothes who has to cross a road with bulls on both sides. "But with red clothes we will not be able to walk this road," he said in the same interview from 2024, referring specifically to the need for constitutional reform.
Almost 50% of those who voted for Pashinyan on June 7 are actually an indicator that the Armenian people are excellent at navigating the details. A significant part of Armenian society is ready for changes and wants them to happen. Despite the lack of an absolute majority that would allow him to independently initiate referendums, the Armenian Prime Minister can still launch the process of amending the Constitution if he secures the support of some opposition MPs. “This is where Russia's efforts to derail the peace process (between Armenia and Azerbaijan - ed.)“ will be focused,” the EU analytical center EUISS announced on this occasion.
Armenia needs a Constitution that works for tomorrow, and does not keep the country in the politics of the late 1980s of the twentieth century. The South Caucasus de facto lives in a different reality, and Karabakh is no longer a subject of negotiations. If the Armenian people really want peace, economic development and the opening of regional transport communications, they will have to take the next step. Namely - to remove from their national legal framework everything that prevents Armenia from getting out of the logic of the conflict. And to focus on the development of the country. It is precisely such a course that is objectively necessary not only for the authorities in Yerevan and Baku, but also for the entire region, along with the EU allies.