During his visit to the South Caucasus, Louis Bono, the chief adviser of the US State Department on Caucasus negotiations, held meetings with the diplomatic leadership of Azerbaijan and Armenia. 

On August 3, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan stated that in the meeting with Louis Bono, Azerbaijan's Minister of Foreign Affairs Jeyhun Bayramov said that official Baku rejects the claims of keeping the Karabakh Armenians under blockade, highlighting the protection of sovereign rights in Karabakh.

Stating that the proposal to use the Aghdam-Khankendi [Stepanakert in Armenian] road remains in force, Bayramov considered the accusations of the Armenian side about the illegitimacy of the Lachin border crossing point as baseless. "Also, it was stated that the intervention of Armenia in the efforts of the Azerbaijani side to reintegrate the Armenian residents is unacceptable," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

On the same day, Ilham Aliyev, the President of Azerbaijan, received the US Department of State Senior Advisor for Caucasus Negotiations.

The head of state continued the exchange of views on the issues raised during his recent telephone conversation with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. President Ilham Aliyev reaffirmed Azerbaijan’s determination to continue the peace process and expressed hope that results would be achieved shortly in major areas discussed as part of negotiations.

According to the information of the Security Council of Armenia, the process of regulating Armenia-Azerbaijani relations was discussed at the meeting between Armen Grigoryan and Louis Bono, and the rights and security issues of the population of Nagorno-Karabakh were touched upon.

"Grigoryan, presenting the humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh and its consequences, emphasized the importance of preventing the problem in the Lachin corridor," the information added.