The initial version of the [trilateral] statement, it was suggested to us that the width of the Lachin corridor be 30 kilometers. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev noted this in his address to the nation, Moscow-Baku.ru wrote.

"I was categorically against it, and said that these aspirations of the Armenian side are absolutely groundless. There is no need for such a wide corridor to ensure security measures within the framework of the corridor. Therefore, I considered it an absolutely unacceptable proposal and expressed my opinion. Then in the second version [of the aforesaid statement], it was envisaged that the width of the Lachin corridor would be 10 kilometers. I did not agree to that either, and as a result, an agreement was reached on a 5-kilometer-wide corridor. A 5-kilometer-wide corridor covers a sufficient distance for us, the Armenians living in Nagorno-Karabakh [(Artsakh)], and for ensuring security," Aliyev also said.

The Azerbaijani president added that in the negotiations that lasted for about 30 years, the issue of returning the Lachin region to Azerbaijan, especially the issue of the Lachin corridor, had always been discussed as a very important and separate topic. "The Armenian side wholly considered that the entire territory of Lachin should be given to them as a corridor. Unfortunately, some Western circles supported this position, and the Lachin region was taken under very serious control by Armenia, and a large settlement program was implemented there. Thousands of people were living there. According to some data, about 10,000 people may have lived there; that is, Armenia’s leadership did not even think of returning the Lachin region to Azerbaijan. When we were touching upon topics referring to the Lachin corridor during the talks, both Armenia and its backers always said that no, the Lachin region is a separate topic. Although we were not even told directly, there has always been a view that the Lachin region should somehow remain with Armenia," Aliyev said.