Armenia`s second president reveals some details of negotiations with  Azerbaijan on Meghri 

ArmInfo.The second President of the Republic of Armenia Robert Kocharyan revealed some  details regarding the negotiations with Azerbaijan on Meghri.

Earlier the Armenian service of Radio Liberty published declassified  documents of the US State Department, according to which the Armenian  authorities headed by Kocharyan allegedly considered the possibility  of exchanging the Meghri region for Nagorno-Karabakh.

In this regard, Kocharyan noted that during the negotiation process,  the Armenian side was constantly looking for opportunities to remove  the issue from the framework of the principle of territorial  integrity of states. Until 1999, the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs did  not go beyond this principle, trying to find solutions within the  framework of the right of peoples to self-determination. "Under Levon  Ter-Petrosyan, two similar proposals were discussed, including the  concept of a "common confederative state with Azerbaijan". All these  initiatives pursued only one goal: to "marry" both principles.  However, in Washington, Azerbaijani President Heydar Aliyev  unexpectedly suggested to Kocharyan "to break away from each other".  In this proposal, according to the ex-president, he saw an  opportunity to break the co- chairs' established approach to  negotiations. Yes, negotiations were conducted. Aliyev proposed this  option, but I immediately said that Armenia cannot lose its border  with Iran. The entire process was beneficial to all parties, and from  the very first days I understood that these discussions would allow  us to come to a solution acceptable to us. Why was I sure of this?  Because Aliyev received six regions, which means he had motivation,"  Kocharyan said.

He added that in 1999, no official proposals were received from the  US or other co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, so the question of the  consent of the Armenian authorities was not on the agenda. The only  such proposal was made in 2001 in Key West. According to this plan,  Nagorno-Karabakh would go to Armenia, and Azerbaijan would receive  sovereign rights to a transport corridor through the Meghri region.   However, Baku subsequently rejected this option. Kocharyan noted that  he had not received any other proposals, especially from the US  through Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott. The ex-president  noted that he acted cautiously during the negotiations, avoiding  categorical answers.