ROBERT KOCHARIAN: I HAVE NOT SEEN THE PAPER WAVED BY LEVON TER-PETROSIAN

Noyan Tapan
Feb 17, 2008

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 17, NOYAN TAPAN. "I have not seen the paper on
the so-called Meghri option, which the presidential candidate Levon
Ter-Petrosian is now waving", the Armenian president Robert Kocahrian
said in the February 16 interview to TV companies, assuming that
after being discussed in the Security Council in 1994 (NT: during
the presidency of L.

Ter-Petrosian), "this naphthalene paper" "has now been taken out for
speculation". "Perhaps the status or age of Ter-Petrosian prevent
him from lying directly or some others have misled him," R. Kocharian
remarked.

He pointed out that during his 10-year presidency, there have been only
three official proposals on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement:
first, it was the proposal made by the then foreign mnister of Russia
Yevgeny Primakov in 1998, then there was the Key West option in 2001,
and the last proposal based on the self-determination principle
was presented about a month ago by the co-chairs. The president
explained that in Key West, the matter concerned only communications
in connection with the Meghri option, and the "swap of territories"
version has never been on the negotiation table.

R. Kocharian also refuted the claim that the issue on the principle
of territories swap was discussed in the Security Council during his
term of office. None of the three official proposals was discussed
there: no version reached such likelihood that it was necessary to
put it under discussion in the Security Council.

The president explained that the "Meghri option" cited by the
opposition is regularly put into circulation, and nobody has imposed
it on Armenia. The possibility of this version has been discussed with
the representatives of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chair states. Only in
case of a positive answer, a proposal would be developed to become
a Minsk Group proposal, but the proposal was rejected for the reason
that "we may not lose the border with Iran".

In carrying out practical work, it is necessary to assess who
supports what, R. Kocharian said, adding that the second line of
Armenian-Iranian gas pipeline was built in Meghri over these years,
construction of a third line and a hydropower plant begins, the issue
of constructing an oil pipeline and a railway is under discussion. "We
do it so that in the future no political figure will think that we
can sacrifice the border with Iran," R. Kocharian said. "I do not
exchange Armenian lands for Armenian lands, in any case, we have not
lost even a square meter of land during my presidency," the Armenian
president stated.