Vedant Patel, Principal Deputy Spokesperson of the US Department of State, commented on the possibility of continuing high-level engagements between Washington and Baku without securing the release of political prisoners in Azerbaijan.

"This is a long process and it requires us to have continued engagement, and it’s something that I would expect both the [US] Secretary [of State Antony Blinken] and Assistant Secretary [James] O’Brien and others to be – continue to be focused on," Patel said at Monday’s State Department press briefing.