Blinken calls on Azerbaijan to respect its international obligations to protect human rights

The United States calls on Azerbaijan to end its intensifying crackdown on media and civil society, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken wrote on X.

“We urge Azerbaijan to respect its international human rights obligations and release those unjustly detained, including Rufat Safarov, Sevinj Vagifgizi, and others detained for their work on behalf of human rights,” Blinken wrote.

The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry responded to the call, stating that it condemns and rejects it. Baku claims that Blinken’s “preconceived” statement “distorts the situation related to the protection of human rights and freedoms in the country and is aimed at interfering in Azerbaijan’s judicial and legal processes.”

“Everyone is well aware that Blinken’s speech from the position of double standards regarding the current human rights situation in our country has paralyzed U.S. policy in the entire South Caucasus,” Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.