diff --git a/src/runtime/virtcontainers/sandbox.go b/src/runtime/virtcontainers/sandbox.go
index c7cfedb574..f056ae902a 100644
--- a/src/runtime/virtcontainers/sandbox.go
+++ b/src/runtime/virtcontainers/sandbox.go
@@ -1623,6 +1623,11 @@ func (s *Sandbox) Stop(force bool) error {
 		return err
 	}
 
+	// Stop communicating with the agent.
+	if err := s.agent.disconnect(); err != nil && !force {
+		return err
+	}
+
 	return nil
 }