Armenian expert criticizes U.S. focus on referendum risks in constitutional dispute

An Armenian legal expert has criticized a narrowly pragmatic U.S. approach to regional tensions after Washington’s declassified 2026 Annual Threat Assessment highlighted hurdles to an Armenia-Azerbaijan peace deal.

Gevorg Danielyan, a member of the Supreme Spiritual Council of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, said the report reveals “a dry calculation” in U.S. policy, driven more by feasibility concerns than by legal or sovereignty considerations.

The assessment notes that Azerbaijan continues to demand that Armenia amend its constitution to remove references that Baku interprets as territorial claims to Nagorno-Karabakh, a step that would require a referendum with uncertain results.

“This shows that the United States is concerned not with the blatant infringement of Armenia’s sovereignty, but with the risk that a referendum may fail,” Danielyan wrote on Facebook on Thursday.

He argued that such a vote would be difficult to pass, pointing to consistently low voter turnout in Armenia. “Even regular elections struggle to reach the required 50% participation threshold, which is mandatory for a valid referendum,” he said.

Danielyan also rejected claims that Armenia’s founding documents contain territorial ambitions. “The Declaration of Independence reflects the principle of self-determination, not territorial claims,” he said, adding that the constitution references only the fundamental principles of statehood outlined in the declaration.

He warned that pushing for constitutional changes under these conditions could lead to a political impasse. “If a referendum fails, it risks entrenching the very narrative it seeks to eliminate, with unavoidable negative consequences,” he said.