AZERBAIJAN ACCUSES US STATE DEPARTMENT OF INTERFERING IN ITS INTERNAL AFFAIRS
Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
April 17 2015
17 April 2015 – 3:07pm
The recent statement by the US State Department is interference in
the internal affairs of Azerbaijan, Foreign Ministry spokesman of
the republic, Hikmet Hajiyev, said.
“The rule of law, protection of fundamental freedoms and independence
of the judiciary is fully ensured in Azerbaijan. No one is prosecuted
in Azerbaijan for political views or activities. Azerbaijan fulfills
its international commitments. Rasul Jafarov was prosecuted for tax
evasion, embezzlement and his other illegal actions. All are equal
before the law, and activities of human rights defenders do not exempt
them from liability. The US State Department’s statement that runs
contrary to the rule of law is aimed at interference in the domestic
affairs of Azerbaijan,” APA cited him as saying.
Hajiyev noted that the US should first require from Armenia the
fulfillment of its international commitments and withdrawal of its
troops from the occupied Azerbaijani territories.
“As a continuation of its aggressive policy, Armenia holds provocative
military exercises on the occupied Azerbaijani territories, and the
US does not react to it. It would better if the US paid attention
to the restoration of the rights of over one million Azerbaijani
refugees and internally displaced persons, which is a result of
Armenian occupation,” he stressed.