Antony Blinken Discusses Lachin Checkpoint with Ilham Aliyev
On April 30, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Ilham Aliyev, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Press Office of the Azerbaijani President reported.
During the telephone conversation, Antony Blinken underlined the importance of peace treaty talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan. He pointed out that the US would continue its support to that end. The US Secretary of State said he believed in achieving peace and touched upon the opening of the checkpoint on the Azerbaijan-Armenia border. He also expressed the United States’ deep concern that Azerbaijan’s establishment of a checkpoint on the Lachin corridor undermines efforts to establish confidence in the peace process, and emphasized the importance of reopening the Lachin corridor to commercial and private vehicles as soon as possible.
President Ilham Aliyev noted that Azerbaijan supports the peace agenda and that it was Azerbaijan that initiated the start of peace treaty talks and the normalization of relations with Armenia. In this respect, the Azerbaijani side proposed five principles to Armenia in line with the norms and principles of international law.
Concerning setting up the "Lachin" checkpoint on the Azerbaijan-Armenia border, President Ilham Aliyev said that the checkpoint had been set up under Azerbaijan’s sovereign rights and all international rules. The Azerbaijani President underlined that the aim was to ensure control rather than restrict movement, as the passage is already allowed through the checkpoint.
During the telephone conversation, the Azerbaijani leader noted that the rights of the Armenian population living in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan would be ensured in line with Azerbaijan's Constitution and international documents to which the country is a party.