U.S. Also Encourages Yerevan and Baku to Heed EU’s Invitation for Meeting
Secretary of State Antony Blinken underscored the need for the opening of the Lachin Corridor, which has been under an Azerbaijani blockade since December 12, during his meeting with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan in Munich last week, the State Department said on Thursday.
“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,” State Department spokesperson Ned Price said during a press briefing.
“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,” Price added.
The State Department spokesperson also announced that the President of the European Council Charles Michel has extended an invitation to the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan for talks on normalization of relations between the two countries. He said the United States is “very supportive” of this initiative.
“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,” said Price.
“My understanding is that the invitation and the opportunity has been extended to the parties. Ultimately, it’s going to have to be up to the parties themselves – our Armenian partners, our Azerbaijani partners – to speak to their potential participation in any such meeting,” Price explained when asked when the proposed meeting was to take place.
“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,” Price commented regarding the U.S.’ commitment to work with Armenia and Azerbaijan on a peace treaty.
