KEITH BEAN: USA ALWAYS PAYS SERIOUS ATTENTION TO THE FREEDOM OF PRESS

    BAKU/05.08.10/TURAN: At the request of some members of the U.S. Senate for Foreign Relations postponed voting on the candidature of Mathew Bryza to the position of ambassador to Azerbaijan, said in interview with Turan the press-secretary of the US Embassy to Baku Keith Bean.
     Some experts connect the delay of the appointment with the tension in bilateral relations. Commenting on such opinion Bean said the visit of the U.S. State Secretary Hillary Clinton to Azerbaijan last month testified the development of bilateral relations.
     `She touched on and discussed certain spheres, including questions on democracy and human rights,` Bean said.
     `USA always stated that the most reliable partners are the countries devoted to democracy, ` - he added.
     During her visit to Baku Clinton told about some progress in the sphere of democracy, and expressed hope on soon release of bloggers. But after her visit the bloggers have not been released, and a news verdict has been passed against journalist Eynulla Fatullayev.
     Commenting on these questions Bean said that there was a special statement of the U.S. Government calling Azerbaijan to respect international obligations. As well he expressed a hope to soon release of the bloggers.
     `Media questions have also been important for us, because free media are constituent parts of developed democracy. And we will always be on this position,` the diplomat said.
     He did not comment on the questions why the assistance allocated by the Congress for Armenia in 2011 is by twice higher, than for Azerbaijan. `American lawmakers deal in these questions`, he noted.
     He also noted that USA do not recognize Nagorno Karabakh, and USA allocate them money only for humanitarian project by NGOs. The similar sums are allocated for people who suffered of the Karabakh conflict in Azerbaijan, He added.-03C06--