YEREVAN, APRIL 26, ARTSAKHPRESS. The United States State Department is deeply concerned about the establishment of the Azeri checkpoint on the Lachin corridor, State Department Principal Deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel has said.
“..this issue in the South Caucasus is something that the Secretary himself deeply values and places a lot of importance on. And as you saw us say over the weekend, the department is deeply concerned about the establishment of a checkpoint on the Lachin corridor,” he told a reporter at a press briefing when asked on Armenia-Azerbaijan.
The establishment of the checkpoint “undermines efforts to establish confidence in the peace process, and we are of the viewpoint that there should be free and open movement of people and commerce on the Lachin corridor,” Patel added.
The United States will continue to “remain deeply engaged on this”.
The Lachin Corridor has been blocked by Azerbaijan since 12 December 2022.
The United Nations’ highest court – the International Court of Justice (ICJ) – ordered Azerbaijan on February 22 to “take all steps at its disposal” to ensure unimpeded movement of persons, vehicles and cargo along the Lachin Corridor in both directions. Azerbaijan has so far ignored the ruling.
