ELYA AGHAJANYAN
Armenian armed forces should withdraw from the NK surrounding territories . Lachin was an exception as it connects Nagorno Karabakh to Armenia . Then comes peaceful negotiations . The step-by-step approach also provided mechanisms for the demilitarization of the surrounding territories . This approach is also known as the “ land for peace ” formula 30 . However , this was rejected by the NK authorities as they considered this plan lacked security guarantees for the NK , which , in turn , sparked the resignation of Levon Ter-Petrosyan . His successor was Robert Kocharyan , the NK leader , who rejected the proposal .
The third proposal that came from the OSCE Minsk Group Co- Chairs , known as Common State , was a return to the package deal . The Common State approach was a slight modification of the 1997 package proposal , where “ Nagorno Karabakh is a state territorial formation in the form of a Republic and constitutes a common state with Azerbaijan in the latter ’ s internationally recognized borders ” 31 . This proposal was greeted by the Armenian side , which cannot be claimed about Azerbaijan . They were afraid the Azerbaijani public would not accept this modification , and it might have created an impression that the Azerbaijani authorities violated the country ' s territorial integrity . Thus , this time it was met positively by the Armenian side under the leadership of Robert Kocharyan . However , Azerbaijan rejected it “ since it would impair its sovereignty ” 32 .
In 1999 , Robert Kocharyan and Heydar Aliyev started their bilateral meetings , entering into direct dialogue . The result of these meetings became the package solution known as Territorial Swap . The essence of this solution was a land swap between Armenia and Azerbaijan : Azerbaijan should gain the Meghri district to establish a land connection with Nakhichevan in exchange for NK sovereignty being transferred to Armenia . Thus , Lachin and Meghri should have symmetrically changed . Based on this document Robert Kocharyan and Heydar Aliyev met with the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs in Key West , US . Finally , the two leaders made real progress . They should have signed this document in Key West as a result of the mediation efforts of the US
30 Levon Zourabian , “ The Nagorno-Karabakh Settlement Revised : Is Peace Achievable ?”
Demokratizatsiya 14 , no . 2 ( 2006 ): 59 .
31
“ On the Principles of a Comprehensive Settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh Armed Conflict ,” OSCE Minsk Group , last modified : November 7 , 1998 , https :// www . legaltools . org / doc / f2c2f3 / pdf /. 32 Azer Babayev et al , The Nagorno-Karabakh deadlock : Insights from successful conflict
settlements ( Frankfurt : Springer , 2019 ), 31 . 60