Baku, April 6 The strength of the peace process between Azerbaijan and Armenia depends only on both countries, and not on other actors, the senior adviser of the United States of America to the South Caucasus, Louis Bono, said Monday in Baku.
“For a solid peace process, this must be requested by the parties, this must come from the parties themselves, and not from the United States of America or anyone else,” the US diplomat added to the press conference.
He added that the role of the mediator is to encourage the parties to talk to each other, propose proposals and exchange ideas.
Bono indicated that two weeks before the Secretary of State Antony Blinken accompanied the US to the German city of Munich, where he met with the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliev, and the Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinián.
“The meeting was constructive, the assessment was shared by all participants. Then the Secretary of State asked me to come to the country as soon as possible to continue the peace process. From there I am here,” he added.
The US mission is to “put an end to the suffering of Azerbaijanis and Armenians so that they can live together in peace,” according to Bono.
The diplomat reiterated Washington’s position against the Azerbaijani blockade of the Lachin Corridor, which connects Armenia with the Republic of Nagorno Karabagh, populated by Armenians, on the territory of Azerbaijan.
“We admit that it is a matter of security, but for the necessary goods and civil loads necessary for the transition so that the people of Karabakh have access to them,” he said.
On December 1, groups of Azerbaijanis called “environmentalists” blocked the corridor, which is guarded by Russian peacekeepers, a situation that continues to this day.
“The Azerbaijani side (…) has done and is doing everything to avoid negative humanitarian consequences in Karabakh” due to the siege of the Lachin Corridor, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Jeyhun Bayramov said last Tuesday.
At the same time, the minister stated that “the legitimate demands of the Azerbaijani civil society should be heard”, referring to the requests of these groups to access the mining operations in the territory of Karabakh in order to inspect them.
The US ambassador, who was received by the Azerbaijani president on a visit to Baku, announced that he will meet the Armenian prime minister in Yerevan on Tuesday.
https://nationworldnews.com/the-us-insists-that-peace-depends-solely-on-azerbaijanis-and-armenians/