Azernews.Az

BAKU – The short visit by US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Tina Kaidanow to Baku is in the limelight of the Azerbaijani public and has sparked a slew of conclusions about its aims.

According to official sources, Kaidanow met with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on Wednesday. The parties discussed US-Azerbaijan relations, the ongoing talks to settle the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Upper (Nagorno) Karabakh, regional and other issues.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Elkhan Polukhov said the agenda of the State Department official’s talks with Minister Mammadyarov was similar – bilateral relations, the Nagorno Karabakh conflict and the developments ongoing in the region and the world over.

During her meetings with opposition leaders – chairman of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA) Ali Karimli and Musavat party leader Isa Gambar, Kaidanow enquired about the overall situation in Azerbaijan and preparations for the country’s forthcoming parliament elections.

Gambar said the meeting with the US official was "interesting".

"I believe that it was once again confirmed that if Azerbaijani authorities are looking to receive at least a somewhat positive feedback regarding the 2010 parliament elections, they should not expect this only from international organizations, but take concrete steps on their own," Gambar claimed. "I assess this meeting as very positive in terms of increasing [the protection of] freedoms, creating equal conditions for all sides involved, release of ‘political prisoners’, bloggers and journalists, and in other respects."

PFPA leader Karimli concluded after meeting Kaidanow that the international community, and the United States in particular, is making an effort to achieve democratic conduct of the November parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan.

Arastun Orujlu, the head of East-West Research Center, says Kaidanow’s paying a visit to Azerbaijan shortly after Russian President Dmitry Medvedev aims to enquire during her talks with officials whether or not there has been any change in Baku’s stance.

"As for her meetings with the opposition, this is common. With the exception of Secretary of State, Mrs. Clinton, during their visits to Azerbaijan all US officials sometimes meet with opposition representatives and sometimes don’t. And I see no point in these meetings, because though less than two months remain before Azerbaijan’s parliament elections, no statements have been made by the U.S. about their democratic conduct."

Orujlu said that the main point of US officials’ talks to Azerbaijan was to look into differences between Baku and Washington over strategic issues.

"If it was possible to iron out the existing differences of opinion, this would have probably happened during Hillary Clinton’s visit to Baku."