On the afternoon of October 19, 2020, Nikol Pashinyan had a telephone conversation with Vladimir Putin, during which the latter reaffirmed that it is possible to try to stop the war under the conditions of the Russian plan developed years ago. The Armenian Prime Minister told it to the session of the Armenian National Assembly's investigative committee.
"And the condition is as follows: seven regions are returned in the "5+2" format, the issue of connection between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia through the Lachin Corridor is resolved, Russian peacekeepers are stationed in Nagorno-Karabakh, the status of Karabakh remains undefined, and the issue remains uncertain for the future", Pashinyan said. Then he added that they had also agreed with the Russian president that the Armenian side would express its position by the evening.
On the same day, Nikol Pashinyan invited the representatives of the extra-parliamentary forces to a consultation, and later to a National Assembly session, within the framework of which the Prime Minister informed that he was going to call the Russian President and say he intends to accept the proposed version.
"I did not expect that any of the invited persons would share the responsibility for that decision with me. I was just keeping them updated about the ongoing process", he said and reminded that his speech that day was addressed to the representatives of the extra-parliamentary forces, that he invited them, because he considers that by informing them, he also informs the public, because he cannot to go on the air and tell what happened every day.
"I called in the evening and told the Russian president that I am ready to stop the war under such conditions. The President of Russia said that he would talk to the President of Azerbaijan and call me. At that time, two of the five regions in question, Fizuli and Jabrayil, were practically completely or largely under the control of Azerbaijan.
The Russian President called the next day, on the morning of October 20, and essentially conveyed the following: "Azerbaijan is ready to stop the war, but expects to get all 7 regions in return, or rather the remaining 5 regions, because two of them, Fizuli and Jabrayil, are already under their control".
But this was not all. It was on this day that the most discussed and criticized episode after November 9, 2020 appeared, that there was an opportunity to stop the war while Shush remained under Armenian control, but I missed it", he said.
