The U.S. Will Not Impose Sanctions on Baku Due to the Blockade of the Lachin Corridor - Luis Bono

The U.S. is not planning to impose sanctions on Azerbaijan regarding the blockade of the Lachin Corridor. Luis Bono, a senior advisor at the U.S. State Department for negotiations in the South Caucasus, stated this in an interview with the Armenian service of Radio Free Europe.

According to him, Washington believes that sanctions would hinder the peace process. “Now is not the time for sanctions. I am here to work with both sides to bring them to peace. Sanctions would have the opposite effect. This is not even being discussed at this time,” Bono emphasized.

He also highlighted that the role of the U.S. in this process is not to mediate, but to facilitate peace. “We are not here to impose a text or shove conditions down either side’s throat. What we are trying to do is facilitate peace. I mean, we want the sides to develop the text and conditions themselves and adopt them together. They need to work on it collectively because any durable, lasting, and balanced peace has to come from the sides. It cannot come from a third party,” Bono declared.

It is noteworthy that as of December 12 at 10:30 AM, the connection between the villages of Lisagor, Mardakert, Hin Shen, and Yeghkhahog in the Shushi region and the capital, Stepanakert, has been interrupted.