Wednesday, August 16 2023 10:32

ArmInfo.The U.S. remains deeply concerned about the continued closure of the Lachin corridor,  specifically its closure to commercial, humanitarian, and private vehicles, Vedant Patel, Principal Deputy Spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State, told a briefing.

"We remain deeply concerned about the continued closure of the Lachin  corridor, specifically its closure to commercial, humanitarian, and  private vehicles. The halting of this kind of humanitarian traffic,  in our opinion, it worsens the humanitarian situation and it  undermines the efforts that have been in place to build confidence in  the peace process. And so we urge the Government of Azerbaijan to  restore free transit of commercial, humanitarian, and private  vehicles through this corridor. We're also aware that the UN Security  Council has a meeting on Wednesday to discuss the issue of  Nagorno-Karabakh, and we expect further discussions to take place  there as well.

As to what is the U.S.'s position on that very issue at the UN and  whether the U.S. has any message to send out to both sides, Mr Patel  said: 

"I'm not going to get ahead of the meeting, Alex. But we have  consistently emphasized and reiterated the fact that direct dialogue  is essential to resolving this longstanding conflict, and we think  that any engagements that ultimately bring peace and stability to the  people of South Caucasus would be a good thing and a positive step  forward."