In an interview given to the Russian service of BBC by the ANC leader Levon Ter-Petrosyan answering to a question when had the parties been close to the settlement of the conflict he said, “The settlement of Karabakh conflict was very close in 1997, because at that time there was an opportunity to solve the problem by giving some lands to Azerbaijan, make peace, create an interim status for Karabakh, and later decide the final status.” In answer to a question why it did not happen he said, “Because the people of Karabakh said that it was not enough. The approach was maximalistic. They thought it was possible to press more and get more. This means that not only the people of Karabakh but some people around me thought this way. They did not want that plan. At that time I told them that if they thought there would be a better solution, they could try it. I could not take the risk to fail such solution. I told them to try to do it and see what would happen…” The BBC’s correspondent also asked what Ter-Petrosyan thought about the issue of the conflict in twenty years and how he saw the parties in twenty years. “I am optimistic. I believe everything will be fine. We have one problem only now. The authorities are marred now. If we recover normal governance, everything will be fine. If there is a normal state, free state, both the problems with Azerbaijan will be solved and the issue with Turkey will be solved. It means that if Armenia is faced with a tragic situation, it will be our fault only,” announced the ANC leader.
