ArmInfo.The US has made it clear through its word and its deed that it is ready and able to help the parties - Armenia and Azerbaijan - advance progress on these very difficult questions in any way that we can.
Thus, on February 23, during the briefing, the following questions were asked to the Spokesperson of the US State Department, Ned Price: "Earlier this month, reports suggested that United States and France are working together to try to end Azerbaijan's continuing blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh. I was wondering if this communication that happened between the Secretary of State and his French counterpart was more like a one-time effort or maybe having more efforts, joint work together, or should we expect it in the future between United States and French authorities?
And my second question is more about the humanitarian aspect. Azerbaijan, unfortunately, continues to disregard international calls, whether it's coming from this administration or the European partners, and the situation on ground continues to deteriorate. The hospitals, the schools cease to function normally in Nagorno-Karabakh. I was wondering if the administration considers stepping in and maybe delivering humanitarian aid to Nagorno- Karabakh using USAID or other - capacity of USAID or other channels." Spokesperson Ned Price's responses were as follows:
"So on your first question, we have made clear through our word and our deed that we are ready and able to help the parties - Armenia and Azerbaijan - advance progress on these very difficult questions in any way that we can. We have done so bilaterally, we have done so trilaterally with the parties, including when Secretary Blinken sat down with his Armenian and Azerbaijani counterparts in Munich. We are and have been working with and through our partners. We're very supportive of the EU process, and I should note that there is an offer from President Michel of the EU to host the parties in Brussels. It's an opportunity, should they accept it, to sit down to continue the progress that we've seen in recent weeks.
When it comes to the Lachin corridor, the Secretary raised this in his engagement with the prime minister and with the president in Munich last weekend. He underscored the need for free and open commercial and private transit through the Lachin corridor. He also called on the parties to open other transportation routes. We think it in the first instance is incumbent on the parties themselves to resolve these impediments to the free flow of goods, including humanitarian assistance to the people who need it most in this corridor, and we're going to focus our diplomacy on attempting to bring - to help bring that about. All right, yes," the representative of the US State Department summed up.