WASHINGTON. July 13 (Interfax) - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has underlined the importance of free transit by the Lachin corridor in a phone call with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, the U.S. Department of State said.
"Secretary Blinken underscored the need for free transit of commercial, humanitarian, and private vehicles through the Lachin corridor," the Department of State said.
Blinken voiced support for the peace talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan, it said.
In turn, the Azerbaijani presidential press service said after the phone call that "President Ilham Aliyev underlined Azerbaijan's commitment to the peace agenda aimed at normalizing relations with Armenia and said that Azerbaijan, which initiated a bilateral peace agreement, supported its signing."
Aliyev lauded the unwavering support of Blinken and the U.S. government for the Azerbaijani-Armenian peace agenda and said that another high-level meeting with Armenia would be held in the coming days, the press service said.
He also told Blinken that Azerbaijan had organized humanitarian cargo deliveries, individual crossings and medical evacuation through the Lachin border and customs checkpoint, but Armenia staged an armed provocation on June 15 and contraband was found in humanitarian cargo being escorted by the International Committee of the Red Cross, which "is under investigation."
The phone call was initiated by the U.S. side, the Azerbaijani presidential press service said.
The Azerbaijani State Border Service said earlier that the Lachin checkpoint had suspended operation after detecting contraband of phones, chargers and gasoline.
Later that day, Blinken called Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. The latter called for ending the humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh caused by the Lachin corridor blocking by Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijan opened the checkpoint on the Lachin road on April 23, 2023.
The Stepanakert-Goris road, also known as the Lachin corridor, which is currently monitored by Russian peacekeepers, was blocked by Azerbaijan on December 12, 2022. This is the only road between Armenia and the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. The Armenian government has repeatedly declared the need to unblock the Lachin corridor.