The U.S. Department of State criticized Azerbaijan’s establishment of a checkpoint on the Lachin corridor, according to Principal Deputy Spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State Vedant Patel.
Patel supported Yerevan's confrontational position requiring uncontrolled movement along the Lachin corridor, including the unrestricted movement of Armenian weapons and militants into the Karabakh economic region of Azerbaijan.
The State Department spokesman formulated this requirement as "free movement of people and commerce" on the Lachin corridor. Due to the fact that there will be no more uncontrolled transportation of prohibited goods along the Lachin corridor, Patel voiced the "deep concern of the United States."
According to him, the Azerbaijani checkpoint, which will put an end to the escalation of military tension in the region, "will undermine efforts to establish confidence in the peace process", without commenting on the fact that over the previous two years Armenia mined and regulary shelled Azerbaijani terrotories from the zone of temporary deployment of Russian peacekeepers, where Armenian militants are still stationed.
He called on Azerbaijan and Armenia to resume peace talks (not mentioning the talks are being blocked by Yerevan) and refrain from provocations and hostile actions along the border (not mentioning the constant shelling from the Armenian terriotory).
