U.S. Denies Official Baku's Claims

The Senior Advisor for Climate Policy to the U.S. President, John Podesta, has denied claims from official Baku that a letter from a group of congress members calling for sanctions against the Azerbaijani authorities was written within the State Department.

Yesterday in Baku, during a conversation with reporters, the American official stated that allegations suggesting U.S. executive power controls the actions of Capitol Hill are unfounded. However, Podesta did not clarify Washington's position regarding the demand for sanctions against official Baku.

"The letter reflects their (the congress members') concerns regarding human rights in Azerbaijan. All of this is their personal, independent views. They are not subject to any influence from the Secretary of State or any other executive authority," Podesta stated according to an Azerbaijani media outlet.

According to the White House representative, the issue of human rights in Azerbaijan is "regularly discussed between Washington and Baku," including at the level of the heads of the diplomatic departments of the two countries. He indicated that the Aliyev administration has promised Washington to fulfill its "commitments regarding human rights and freedom of the press."

"We expect that the authorities will fulfill these promises," the American side said. Earlier, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev criticized the United States, particularly Secretary of State Antony Blinken, stating that he was informed that 60 pro-Armenian congress members had appealed to the U.S. government requesting additional sanctions against Azerbaijan.

"When I looked at this document, I guessed that the author and the addressee are the same person—the U.S. Secretary of State," Aliyev said. Days after Aliyev's statement, it was reported that 43 members of Azerbaijan's Milli Majlis sent a letter to Bayramov calling for the termination of agreements with the U.S. and for stopping programs with U.S. aid agencies.