Armenia and Azerbaijan are moving forward on economic cooperation, including the revival of Azerbaijani oil product shipments to Armenia, even as a disagreement over Armenia’s constitution continues to block the signing of a full peace agreement between the two countries.
Despite the lack of a formal treaty, trade and diplomatic contacts between the two nations have grown, with observers describing the current situation as a kind of “real peace” in practice. Still, negotiations on a binding accord remain at a standstill.
At the heart of the dispute is language in the preamble of Armenia’s constitution. That section references a Soviet-era declaration that called for the unification of Armenia and the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Azerbaijan views this wording as an indirect claim on its sovereign territory and has insisted the language must be removed before any peace treaty can be finalized.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has said he intends to put a new constitution before voters through a national referendum, which would strip out the contested language. However, the timeline for that vote is unclear, as his political party currently lacks the parliamentary majority needed to push the referendum forward without complications.
Even with the treaty stalled, relations between the two countries have continued to improve. Direct communication has increased, and economic ties have been restored, most notably through the resumption of Azerbaijani oil deliveries to Armenia following years of conflict between the two nations.
The roots of the dispute stretch back decades to the long-standing conflict over the mountainous territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. That conflict came to a decisive end in 2023 when Azerbaijan launched a swift military offensive that dismantled the ethnic Armenian breakaway region there, causing more than 100,000 residents to flee their homes.
While the growing trade relationship and expanding diplomatic engagement point toward eventual normalization, the constitutional question remains the central obstacle standing between Armenia and Azerbaijan and a comprehensive, formal peace agreement.
