U.S. to hold off democracy dialog with Azerbaijan until it makes sense

Washington decided to hold off on carrying a bilateral dialogue over civil society and democracy with the Azerbaijani officials, TURAN’s U.S. correspondent was informed by the diplomatic sources.

State Department official Tom Malinowski, the assistant secretary of state for human rights, was planning to visit Baku early last week to focus on current challenges between the two countries in a wave of an ongoing crackdown against civil society and western institutions in Azerbaijan.

The trip, however, got cancelled at the last moment, according to the diplomatic sources, leading to rumors that the Azerbaijani side prevented it. Baku previously snubbed another top U.S. government delegation’s trip prior to 2013 presidential election,which was supposed to be lead by then DAS Thomas Melia on democracy and human rights.

Speaking to TURAN’s Washington correspondent on Wednesday, May 20 a State Department Official ruled out the possibility ofAzeri cancellation of Malinowski trip.

“It’s not correct that the Azerbaijan government prevented a trip,” State Department Officials noted. “While the US and Azerbaijan agreed to hold such a dialogue during [Assistant Secretary] Toria Nuland’s February visit to Baku, we simply don’t believe that such a dialogue would be productive right now given the current climate. That’s our judgment, and our decision.”

Although the agreement on creation of a bilateral U.S.-Azerbaijani dialogue was announced in February, it yet remained unclear whether Azeris, or the U.S. side initiated the idea.

Some independent Azerbaijan watchers in Washington, D.C. however have since been urging the Obama Administration to rather take “sharp steps” against Azeri officials should there be no change with the crackdown against activists. Similar calls have increased especially recently as the government-owned Azeri media have ranseries of articlesblaming Washington in orchestrating  a “plot” to tarnish the country's image ahead of the European Olympic Games. The articles portray Secretary John Kerry as pro-Armenian.

On May 13, Azerbaijani Foreign Affairs minister Elmar Mammadyarov met with DAS Victoria Nuland in the Turkish resort town of Antalya.“The meeting was requested by the U.S. side in a frame of a gathering of NATO foreign ministers,” according to the Azeri official sources.

State Department didn’t immediately respond to the request on the details of Antalya meeting.

Speaking to TURAN’s correspondent several Azerbaijani watchers in Washington, D.C. supported State Department’s decision on holding off the dialog with Baku, as they put it, it “didn’t make sense” to be part of a formal mechanism for the Azerbaijani government to justify the release of only a few political prisoners under the guise of an objective, rational examination of international norms.

The potential for blowback for the US, already damaged amongst progressive elements in Azerbaijan, is “enormous,” an analyst said, on condition of anonymity.

AlakbarRaufoglu

Washington, D.C.