Louis Bono, the Leading Adviser of the US Secretary of State for the Caucasus Negotiations, stated that Washington sees no way forward except for close cooperation with the parties, the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan, for the establishment of a permanent and balanced peace.

According to the diplomat, the role of the United States in the current Armenian-Azerbaijani process consists of mediation. "We did not come here to accept the formula, the terms of one of the parties. We are trying to contribute to peace. We want the parties themselves to prepare the formulas and the terms and accept them together. They have to solve it among themselves because any long-term, sustainable and balanced peace between the parties must come from themselves. It cannot come from a third party, from abroad," Bono stressed.

The representative of the US said that the mechanism of guaranteeing the security and rights of the Karabakh Armenians is essential. He added that the Karabakh issue would be integral to the peace process: "I think both sides have acknowledged this. However, as I said, we did not come here to accept the conditions for an agreement or understanding. This is important for the parties. We will work with the parties. President Aliyev said that he would appoint a representative for mutual work with the representatives of Karabakh. I think this happened last week. In my discussions with him, he said that he is ready to continue these discussions. Therefore, we look optimistically at the possibility of working with the parties in this direction. However, this is not easy. It will not happen. It requires a lot of hard work and commitment from all parties."

Regarding whether Washington is ready to work with Moscow in the normalization of Karabakh and Armenian-Azerbaijani relations, Bono noted, "Washington is ready to work with any parties committed to moving this process forward." He also said he is in contact with his Russian counterpart in the OSCE Minsk Group. Bono recalled that US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken made it clear when he met with the parties in Munich that the Lachin Corridor should be free and open to commercial and private traffic. He noted that the United States would continue its persistent position on this issue.

According to the American diplomat, he returns to Washington with the idea that the region has prospects for peace. "However, it will not be easy, it requires trust from the parties, trust that they will fulfill their obligations and remain loyal to the cause of peace," he added.

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