State Dept Urges Azerbaijan To Open Lachin Corridor As UN Takes Up Karabakh Debate
Washington D.C./16.08.23/Turan: The United States on Tuesday urged Azerbaijan to "restore free transit of commercial, humanitarian, and private vehicles" through the Lachin corridor, saying that its closure undermines peace efforts, TURAN's Washington correspondent reports.
"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," State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel told a daily briefing.
The move came as the U.N. Security Council will convene today an emergency meeting to discuss the ongoing crisis in the Karabakh region. Some U.S. lawmakers sent a letter to the U.N. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield on Tuesday, urging her to "use the moment" to urge Azerbaijan to restore aid flows to Karabakh.
"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 added.
When asked by TURAN about Washington's position on today's UN debate, Patel said he wouldn't "get ahead of the meeting".
In the meantime, he went on to add, "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."
Alex Raufoglu
Politics
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