US DoS: We urge the Government of Azerbaijan to restore free transit of vehicles through the corridor

We remain deeply concerned about the continued closure of
the Lachin corridor, specifically its closure to commercial, humanitarian, and
private vehicles. Principal Deputy Spokesperson for the U.S. Department of
State Vedant Patel said this at his briefing.

“The halting of this kind of humanitarian traffic, in our
opinion, worsens the humanitarian situation and 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,”
Patel said.

Patel did not answer the question as to what the position of
the U.S. mission to the U.N is on that very issue at the U.N. 

“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,” he
said.