Karen Demirchyan, Vazgen Sargsyan prevented Meghri-Karabakh swap at  the cost of their lives - Nikol Pashinyan  

ArmInfo. In 1998-1999, the so-called concept of territorial swap between Armenia and Azerbaijan  was on the negotiating table, which provided for Armenia's Meghri being swapped for Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenia's Premier Nikol Pashinyan stated at a meeting of the Parliamentary Commission for investigation  of the circumstances of the 44-day war. 

Pashinyan read out several points of the above document. In  particular, it notes that Nagorno-Karabakh, Shusha and Lachin regions  within the 1988 borders are transferred to Armenia, and the Meghri  region of the RA, again within the 1998 borders, is transferred to  Azerbaijan. By the second point, the prime minister continued, the  "occupied territories" of Aghdam, Fizuli, Jebrayil, Kubatlu,  Zangelan, Kalbajar, Gazakh and Shaumyan (within the 1988 borders) are  transferred under the political and administrative control of the  Republic of Azerbaijan. "Article 3: After the entry into force of  this treaty, all non-border territories (enclaves) of any state are  transferred to the state that surrounds them," Armenia's premier  said. 

According to the fourth article of the mentioned agreement, it was  stipulated that Armenia immediately begins the withdrawal of armed  forces from all the "occupied territories" of Azerbaijan, including  from the Aghdam, Fizuli, Jabrayili, Kubatlu, Shahumyan, Zangilan,  Kalbajar, Gazakh regions. The withdrawal of the armed forces was to  be completed within 60 days of the entry into force of the agreement.   The planning and implementation of the withdrawal and transfer of  these forces were to be carried out with the support of international  observers.

"Article 5. After the entry into force of this agreement, the safe  and voluntary withdrawal of the population of the Meghri region and  Armenians currently living in the regions of Aghdam, Fizuli,  Jebrayil, Kubatlu, Zangelan, Kalbajar, Gazakh and Shaumyan to the RA  will start," the Prime Minister said. . The process was scheduled to  be completed within 60 days of the entry into force of the agreement,  again under the supervision of an international mission. Meghri,  according to the document, was first of all planned to be settled by  Azerbaijani citizens "relocated during the conflict."

"This document, in fact, fixes the death of the fundamental Armenian  ideas about the settlement of the Karabakh conflict. True, he was not  accepted. There is an opinion, and I share it, that its signing was  prevented by Karen Demirchyan and Vazgen Sargsyan - at the cost of  their lives (they were shot in parliament in October 1999, ed.), the  chronology testifies to this," Pashinyan said.