Narek Karapetyan: The issue of what Armenia`s Constitution should be  must not be decided in Baku

ArmInfo.  The consent of the National Assembly, including opposition deputies, is required for a constitutional referendum in Armenia, as stated by Narek  Karapetyan, leader of the Strong Armenia parliamentary faction, to  reporters on August 4, while commenting on Baku's demands for Yerevan  to adopt a new Constitution.

According to Narek Karapetyan, the initiative put forward by the  Azerbaijani side is not a legitimate proposal for Armenia. The  question of what Armenia's Constitution should be must not be decided  in Baku.  "We must move toward peace and have a peace treaty, but  this treaty must close all doors to dangers for our country's future.  You can be certain that all our political steps will have only one  direction—to secure a peace treaty without compromising ethnic  composition," Narek Karapetyan stated. He added that, according to  numerous statements by high-ranking Azerbaijani officials, Baku has  set a goal to change the demographic situation in Armenia.

"The leader of the Azerbaijani state spoke about this precisely a  several months ago. And a few days ago, the Minister of Education of  Azerbaijan, the author of textbooks for Azerbaijani schools, directly  stated that the issue of 'Western Azerbaijan' is a matter of the  national identity of the Azerbaijani people," Narek Karapetyan said.  He added that the return of Azerbaijanists to Armenia could take  place in stages over several years. "They will arrive with financial  resources and begin purchasing land plots and houses. There is no law  in Armenia establishing how many real estate objects a foreign  company can acquire. For this reason, our bloc has proposed enacting  an anti-Safarov law," the faction leader noted.