Pashinyan Moves Peace Deal Target to 2027–2028 and Floats Early Vote

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan set a 2031 target for signing and ratifying a peace agreement with Azerbaijan on October 15. On October 22, he cited 2027–2028 as possible dates. The same day, he said a new Constitution draft would be prepared, that he would seek to persuade the opposition, and that he did not rule out an early parliamentary election if no agreement was reached.

According to Modern.az, Azerbaijan argues that the reference to the 1990 Declaration of Independence in Armenia's Constitution creates a risk of territorial claims, and that the current Constitution contains a specific territorial claim against Azerbaijan. Yerevan disagrees that this legal link creates such a claim. Baku wants the peace to be legally durable and not limited to a signing ceremony.

In the 2026 parliamentary election, the ruling Civil Contract party won 64 of 105 seats. Advancing the constitutional referendum process through parliament requires 70 seats. On October 22, Pashinyan also said Armenia was working with Ankara and Baku to open the border with Turkey, noting that Azerbaijan had some reservations on the issue.