George Kent: I Hope There Will Be No Political Prisoners in Azerbaijan at My Next Visit

Baku / 03.05.19 / Turan: The United States and Azerbaijan continue to cooperate on regional and security issues. Supporting basic freedoms is one of America"s foreign policy principles. Successful can be a country where not only a strong government, but also a strong civil society exists, "so that people can realize their fundamental freedoms enshrined in the Constitution. On these issues, we continue the dialogue with the authorities of Azerbaijan," Deputy Assistant Secretary of State George Kent told reporters in Baku.

When asked by the Turan agency, whether at a meeting with Ilham Aliyev, the issues of release of political prisoners, cessation of persecution of political activists, journalists and representatives of civil society were discussed, Kent gave a positive response.

"At a meeting with President Aliyev, we raised all these questions. In particular, I raised the issue of the situation in the media, which I also touched on during my previous visit to Baku last October," said Kent.

According to him, US Ambassador Litzenberger, who was present at the meeting, raised the issue of democratic freedoms and civil society activists.

The United States considers it important to ensure the free functioning of civil society. The presence of alternative and critical voices makes the country stronger. To enable people to express their opinions, unite and criticize means to show that you are strong. "That was our message to the Azerbaijani authorities," said Kent.

He also made it clear that the provision of all these issues also depends on the Azerbaijani society. "This is not our country, this is your country," he noted.

On Turan"s question if Ilham Aliyev have the political will to ensure all this, the Washington representative said he had met twice with Ilham Aliyev and had a "good conversation." Between these meetings, a number of persons recognized as political prisoners were released. "I consider this a positive gesture and we hope that such gestures will continue, and other journalists and activists will be free. Azerbaijan should not be among the countries where there are political prisoners and prisoners of conscience. In this matter, it is important to maintain a dialogue with the authorities and I hope that in the near future, there will be only one country in this region where there are political prisoners - Russia," said George Kent.

On Turan"s clarifying question if the return of American non-governmental organizations, like IREX, NDI and others, to Azerbaijan was discussed with Ilham Aliyev, the US representative gave a negative answer. -02B-