Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said Baku and Yerevan can reach a peace deal if Armenia makes changes to its constitution and other legal documents, thus "putting an end to territorial claims against Azerbaijan."

The Azerbaijani press says Aliyev made the statement during a meeting today in Baku with Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Secretary General Martin Chungong. The IPU is a global organization of 180 national parliaments.

Aliyev said Armenia’s Declaration of Independence includes direct calls for the annexation of Azerbaijan's Karabakh region to Armenia and the violation of Azerbaijan's territorial integrity.

Azerbaijan claims a preamble to Armenia’s Constitution indirectly refers to a 1989 declaration on Artsakh’s reunification with the Republic of Armenia and calls for the international recognition of the 1915 Armenian Genocide.

Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan and Armenian National Assembly Speaker Alen Simonyan have recently called for a new constitution, arguing the document contains provisions that are outdated and need to be revised to reflect the “new geopolitical environment” in the region.

Pashinyan’s domestic opponents claim the initiative for a new constitution is yet another concession to Baku.

"Peace already exists between Azerbaijan and Armenia. A peaceful situation has existed on the border of the two countries for several months. However, to bring that process to a logical end, it is necessary to sign a peace agreement, and Armenia should give up its territorial claims against Azerbaijan," Aliyev said today.

Photo: Azerbaijani President’s Office