Thomas Melia: there is no country that could not ensure democracy

"Foundations and purpose of our visit and talks in Baku matter human rights and democracy. " This was announced at the press conference by the Deputy Secretary of State for Democracy and Human Rights Thomas Melia.

He noted that he had meetings with President Ilham Aliyev, Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov, the opposition and civil society.

"2013 is a year of presidential election and now we observe the commitment made in democracy.  U.S. evaluates the state of human rights and reflects thesituation in Azerbaijan

"We are concerned about higher fines for holding unauthorized meetings," said Melia.

 Responding to the question of the agency Turan on the problem of the Azadlig newspaper, he said: "We are concerned with the situation, and the matter should be resolved. This demonstrates the state of freedom of speech. Especially before the elections it is very important that all have the right to expression, " said Melia.

 When asked to express his attitude to the facts of the persecution of the journalist Khadija Ismailova, Melia said that this is one of the problems that are "in need of hearing and assessment."

 Asked about the Karabakh conflict, he noted that the Azerbaijani and Armenian governments must agree to resolve this issue peacefully.

 At the question whether denial of human rights is related to the poor socio-economic situation in the country, he noted that there is no country that could not ensure freedom of expression and democracy. -03B-