The office of Armen Grigorian, the secretary of Armenia’s National Security Council, said that he briefed Sullivan on “the crisis situation around the Lachin corridor created by Azerbaijan.”
Both men “stressed the importance of promptly resolving the situation” and resuming Armenian-Azerbaijani peace negotiations, the office added in a statement.
Sullivan mediated such talks in September, hosting a meeting in Washington and between Grigorian and a senior aide to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.
The United States has repeatedly called on Azerbaijan to reopen the vital Karabakh road that was blocked by Azerbaijani protesters on December 12. The State Department has said the blockade “has severe humanitarian implications and sets back the peace process.”
A senior U.S. diplomat reaffirmed this stance when the UN Security Council discussed the deepening humanitarian crisis in Karabakh earlier this week.
Late last week, nearly three dozen U.S. lawmakers urged President Joe Biden to impose sanctions on Azerbaijan and take other “decisive" measures in response to the blockade. The White House has not yet publicly reacted to their joint letter.