Armenia after the elections and the future of peace: an Azerbaijani perspective

2026-06-19 18:28:00, Aktualitet Anar Huseynov

Since the adoption of the Washington Declaration on 8 August 2025, the normalisation process between Azerbaijan and Armenia has maintained a generally positive trajectory, characterised by structured engagements and increasingly intensive contacts between senior officials of the two countries. In addition, as a gesture of goodwill, Baku unilaterally granted transit access for goods destined for Armenia through its territory and also supplied Armenia with petroleum products as direct exports from Azerbaijan. These measures reflected a shared interest in keeping the dialogue alive and advancing negotiations towards the conclusion of a comprehensive peace agreement.

In the months leading up to Armenia’s parliamentary elections, the pace of diplomatic engagement slowed somewhat, as domestic political considerations and electoral dynamics understandably took on greater prominence within Armenia’s political agenda. Now that the electoral process has concluded and the official results confirm the continuity of the incumbent government, attention is shifting to the future of the peace process and the prospects for overcoming the remaining obstacles to a lasting solution.

Parliamentary elections in Armenia were held on June 7, 2026. According to the announced results, although the ruling party secured sufficient parliamentary support to form a government independently, it failed to obtain the number of mandates necessary to initiate and secure the approval of constitutional amendments through a referendum.

Although the ruling Civil Contract party, led by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, won the elections with 49.75% of the total votes, political forces promoting the continuation of the conflict agenda against Azerbaijan also secured significant representation in parliament. The Strong Armenia Alliance, led by Russian businessman of Armenian origin Samvel Karapetyan, received 23.27% of the votes, while the Armenia Alliance, led by former President Robert Kocharyan, originally from the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, received 9.92%. Thus, this proves that the consensus on establishing peace with Azerbaijan is still not fully effective in Armenian society.

This election result shows that the stance towards the peace process within Armenia continues to face weaknesses. In this regard, Azerbaijan maintains a clear and consistent position, emphasizing the need to remove from the Constitution of Armenia any provisions containing territorial claims against Azerbaijan. This step is considered essential for achieving a lasting and irreversible peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan, as well as for facilitating the signing of the already initialed bilateral agreement.

It is not credible and cannot be accepted as a basis for Armenia to abandon such an ideological goal solely on the basis of the results of the parliamentary elections. On the contrary, the ruling party should take steps to further implement a goal that it has included in its election platform and presented as central to Armenia’s future state-building strategy. Consequently, Yerevan is expected to pursue the necessary constitutional changes, despite the political challenges this process entails.

This position is based on legal, political and historical considerations that Azerbaijan has consistently articulated throughout the normalization process. Armenia, as well as international actors engaged in facilitating dialogue between the parties, have long been aware of these concerns. Therefore, domestic political developments in Armenia, including the parliamentary elections and their results, cannot serve as a basis for Azerbaijan to ignore what it considers to be legitimate concerns regarding the Constitution of Armenia.

Azerbaijan's main expectation is that Armenia will demonstrate the political will and responsibility necessary to fulfill its commitments and bring the peace process to a successful conclusion. At the same time, Azerbaijan expects its international partners to encourage Armenia to take the necessary steps to achieve this goal.

So, my country's position remains clear and unchanging: a lasting peace in the South Caucasus must be based on international law, be free from any territorial claims, and be supported by irrevocable constitutional guarantees.