YEREVAN. July 2 (Interfax-AVN) - Armenia will not return the southern region of Megri to Azerbaijan, Armenian Defense Minister, Security Council Secretary Serzh Sarkisyan told a national newspaper.
"Armenia will never give up Megri, moreover, it would not exchange it even for half of Azerbaijan," Sarkisyan said.
"Speculations about the return or retention of certain territories in light of the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement should be avoided," he said.
"If you compile a list of people for whom it is unbearable to return even one square kilometer won from the enemy, it will begin with the names of Sarkisyan and" Armenian President Robert Kocharyan, he said.
Azerbaijani President Heidar Aliyev previously said that in keeping with the Paris and Key West agreements between himself and Kocharyan, the Nagorno-Karabakh problem will be resolved via the exchange of the Megri corridor for the Lachin strip linking Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh.
Aliyev wanted to demonstrate to "the global community that Azerbaijan is constructive, while Armenia always tries to derail negotiations," Sarkisyan said.