Armenian National Assembly Speaker Alen Simonyan, during a joint press briefing with Czech Chamber of Deputies President Markéta Pekarová Adamová in Yerevan today, argued that there are provisions in Armenia’s Constitution that are outdated and need to be revised to reflect the “new geopolitical environment” in the region.

Simonyan’s remarks follow a similar call for a new constitution made by Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan on January 19 in a speech at the Ministry of Justice.

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

"Since the founding of the Republic of Armenia, there have been and are provisions in the documents that should be reviewed, taking into account all geopolitical changes and recent events. In my opinion, we should understand where Armenia is going, what goals it pursues and what the Republic of Armenia stands for," Simonyan said, responding to a reporter’s question about removing the reference from the constitution.

He added that the Republic of Armenia became independent in 1991 "with specific borders and this should be reflected in all documents".

Simonyan has also enraged government opponents for recent calls made to change Armenia’s national anthem and coat of arms inherited from the 1918 Armenian republic.

Simonyan, in a Telegram post, described the country’s anthem (Mer Hayrenik/Our Fatherland) as “foreign”. The music was arranged by Parsegh Ganatchian and the lyrics, derived from the “The Song of an Italian Girl”, were written by the 19th century writer Mikayel Nalbandyan.

The current anthem replaced the state anthem of Soviet Armenia, adopted in 1944 and used until Armenian independence in 1991. (Music for the Soviet Armenian anthem was written by Aram Khachaturian with lyrics by Soviet Armenian poet Sarmen (Armenak Sargsyan).

In his post, Simonyan lampooned Armenia’s coat of arms that shows an eagle and a lion supporting a shield with an image of Mt. Ararat in the foreground.  The emblems of four royal dynasties that ruled ancient and medieval Armenian kingdoms are also depicted.

Pashinyan has also critiqued the coat of arms, arguing it  underscores a “contradiction between historical Armenia and the real Armenia.”