U.S. State Department again urges unblocking of Lachin corridor  

ArmInfo. Washington is hoping to see direct dialogue leading to a resolution of the issues that have long divided Armenia and Azerbaijan - and through that  dialogue, hopefully reaching a lasting peace, Ned Price, Spokesperson  for the U.S. Department of State, told a briefing on January 24. 

As to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken's telephone talk with  the Azerbaijani president, when he urged the Azerbaijani leader to  redouble his efforts on peace negotiations, as well as Mr Blinken's  welcoming Armenian Premier Nikol Pashinyan's commitment, and his view  of the process moving forward, Mr Price said: 

"Well, we don't go into it with a conclusion. We go into it hoping to  see direct dialogue - direct dialogue leading to a resolution of the  issues that have long divided Armenia and Azerbaijan - and through  that dialogue, hopefully reaching a lasting peace. We're continuing  to engage in direct discussions with Armenia and Azerbaijan. We're  doing that bilaterally; we're doing that with partners; we're doing  that through multilateral institutions. We've had an occasion to do  that trilaterally a couple times last year as well. We are going to  do what is most effective to bring about a resolution to these very  thorny issues."

As to whether the Secretary of State has clear understanding of where  the negotiation process is stalled at this point, he said:

"We have a good sense of the state of play. We have various concerns.  Let me just state, on the topic of those concerns, our concerns  regarding the Lachin corridor. We are concerned that the situation  there is worsening; the worsening humanitarian situation in  Nagorno-Karabakh has been a focus of not only the Secretary but  others in this building. Ongoing obstruction of normal commercial and  private travel along the Lachin corridor is causing shortages of  food, fuel, and medicine for the residents who depend on the corridor  for those very basic supplies. Periodic disruptions to natural gas  and other basic utilities exacerbate the worsening humanitarian  situation. We call for the full restoration of free movement through  the corridor, including commercial and private travel. We believe we  need a solution to this impasse that will ensure the safety and  well-being of the population living in the area, and we believe the  way forward is, as I said before, through negotiations. We remain  committed to supporting a lasting peace."