The US State Department hopes that direct dialogue between Yerevan and Baku will resume, through which the parties can settle their differences. US State Department spokesman Ned Price stated this during a meeting with journalists on 24 January.
“Through that dialogue, we hope, it will become possible to reach a lasting peace. We continue to have direct discussions with Armenia and Azerbaijan. We do this both in a bilateral format, with our partners, and through multilateral organizations. Last year we also had the opportunity on several occasions to organize meetings in a trilateral format. We will continue to take every effective step to resolve these rather acute issues,” Price emphasized.
Responding to another question as to whether the US Secretary of State has a clear picture of the current situation regarding Lachin, Ned Price noted that the American side is extremely well informed of the situation and has various concerns, one of which is the situation created around the Lachin corridor.
“We are concerned that the situation there is deteriorating. The worsening of the humanitarian situation in Nagorno-Karabakh is a focus of attention not only for the Secretary of State but also for other workers in this building. The continued obstruction of ordinary commercial and private traffic along the Lachin corridor is leading to shortages of food, fuel and medicine for the population, and is also disrupting basic supplies of essential goods there.
The periodic disruptions in the supply of natural gas and other essential services further aggravate the deteriorating humanitarian situation. We call for the full restoration of free movement through the corridor, including for commercial and private traffic. We believe it is necessary to find a solution out of this impasse that ensures the security and well-being of the population living there. We believe it is necessary to move forward through negotiations, and we are committed to supporting a lasting peace,” Ned Price declared.
