The closure of the Lachin Corridor has potentially severe humanitarian implications and, quite candidly, sets back the peace process. US Department of State Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel noted this during Friday’s Department press briefing.

“We’re pleased that natural gas to Nagorno-Karabakh has been restored. Disruptions to energy infrastructure could precipitate a humanitarian crisis, as I said. And we call on the restoration of free movement through the corridor as soon as possible, and the way forward to this is through negotiations,” Patel added.

Moreover, Patel said that he could not assign a timeline for the signing of a peace agreement between the Armenian and Azerbaijani sides.

“This is something that you know that the [US] Secretary [of State] has a great interest in and has paid very close attention to, other senior leaders across the department have as well, and it’s something that we’re going to continue to remain deeply engaged on and get to cross the finish line,” added the US State Department principal deputy spokesperson.