U.S. Congressman Dana Rohrabacher on upcoming hearing: "It will help identify areas of concern and cooperation"
U.S. Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia, and Emerging Threats, commented on this week's subcommittee hearing on Azerbaijan, saying that it "will help identify areas of concern and areas where cooperation [between US and Azerbaijan] could be increased."
"The recent closure of the Baku bureau of Radio Free Europe Radio/ Radio Liberty is not the way to encourage relations between our two nations...
We will discuss what actions should be taken to ensure continued good relations,” he stated, TURAN's Washington correspondent reports.
The hearing titled "Azerbaijan: U.S. Energy, Security, and Human Rights Interests" will be held on February 12, with expected testimonies by former US Ambassador Richard Kauzlarich, pro-Azeri government analyst Svante Cornell and Woodrow Wilson fellow Audrey Altstadt.
The move comes at the time of the worst relations between Baku and Washington during past decade, according to some local analysts, amid Azeri government's crackdown on journalists, civil society members, and attacks against the U.S.
Some observers in Washington, D.C., including Amb. Kauzlarich, have called Obama Administration for sanctions against the Azeri government.
State Department officials recently made it clear that they will continue to support independent voices in Azerbaijan while seeking a way to “engage constructively” with the Azeri government.
The congressional hearing is scheduled on the very same day when a new U.S. ambassador Robert Cekuta will arrive in Baku.
In his statement on upcoming hearing, Congressman Rohrabacher added: “Azerbaijan is a country in a tough part of the world; it is surrounded by several countries that are not friendly to its interests. The U.S. has worked to help Azerbaijan grow its economy and we are grateful for the security cooperation that has developed. Yet, in the areas of human rights and democracy, progress has not been as steady, and has even backslid."
A.Raufoglu
Washington, D.C.
Politics
-
Armenia is not against the dissolution of the OSCE Minsk Group, but does not consider it appropriate to discuss this issue now. "In the context of peace, we consider it possible to make a decision on the dissolution of the OSCE Minsk Group. When peace is an established fact, the existence of such a format may raise questions," Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said at a press conference today. "The whole question is about the timing, we need to understand how effectively and correctly to turn such topics into a subject of discussion right now," the Armenian Prime Minister added.
-
He expressed his willingness to meet with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev at the border between the two countries. "A meeting with Ilham Aliyev could take place at the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. I am open to such a format," Pashinyan said at a press conference today. According to Pashinyan, Armenia recently presented another proposal for a peace treaty to Azerbaijan.
-
On August 31, Azerbaijan observes a "day of silence" before the Sunday’s early parliamentary elections for the unicameral Milli Majlis. All electoral campaigning is prohibited 24 hours before the voting. The early elections were initiated by the ruling Yeni Azerbaijan Party. This decision was motivated by the overlap of the scheduled elections in November with the global UN forum - the COP20 climate conference taking place in Baku.
-
On August 30, at approximately 22:55, the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant in Metsamor was disconnected from the country's power grid, as reported by the Armenian Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure. The shutdown was caused by a lightning strike, which triggered the plant's safety systems to switch the station to a safe shutdown mode. Currently, the plant's staff is working on restarting the facility.
Leave a review