During a meeting with journalists on January 24, US State Department spokesman Ned Price, in response to a journalist's question regarding Secretary of State Blinken's recent telephone conversations with the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan, stated that the US State Department hopes that direct dialogue between Yerevan and Baku will resume, which will lead to to the settlement of issues on which the parties have had disagreements for a long time.

"Through that dialogue, we hope, it will be possible to achieve lasting peace. We continue to have direct discussions with Armenia and Azerbaijan. We do this both bilaterally, with our partners, and through multilateral organizations. Last year, we also had the opportunity to organize meetings in a tripartite format several times. We will continue to do everything that is most effective to solve these rather acute issues," Price emphasized.

Answering another question, whether the US Secretary of State has a clear understanding of the current situation in this matter, Ned Price noted that the American side is very well aware of the situation and has various concerns, one of which is the situation around the Lachine Corridor.

"We are concerned that the situation there is deteriorating. The deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Nagorno-Karabakh is the focus of attention not only of the Secretary of State but also of other officials. The continued disruption of normal commercial and private traffic along the Lachine Corridor is causing shortages of food, fuel, and medicine for the corridor-dependent population, as well as disrupting key supplies of essential goods here. The disruption of natural gas and other basic utilities is further exacerbating the deteriorating humanitarian situation. We call for the full restoration of free movement along the corridor, including for commercial and private traffic. We believe it is necessary to find a solution to this impasse that will ensure the safety and well-being of the population living here. We believe in the need to move forward through negotiations and are committed to supporting a lasting peace," said Ned Price.

It should be reminded that US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, in a telephone conversation with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, urged Aliyev to immediately unblock the Lachin Corridor for commercial transport. He emphasized that the threat of a humanitarian crisis in the Lachin Corridor undermines the prospects of peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The Secretary of State called on Aliyev to redouble his efforts in bilateral peace negotiations with Armenia.