Azernews.Az

BAKU – A senior US rights official visiting Azerbaijan has said that in his meetings with officials in Baku he had called on them to show more respect for human rights and "be more open" politically.

"The point I made during my meetings with government officials is that the United States establishes its best cooperation with democratic countries, with countries that protect human rights," Thomas Melia, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State on Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, told reporters Thursday.

Regarding the goals of his visit, Melia said it was to express President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s support for US Ambassador Matthew Bryza and the US embassy in Baku.

During the three-day visit, which started on Wednesday, Melia has held meetings with officials, political party leaders, civil society and media representatives. He also paid tribute to journalist Elmar Huseynov, who was murdered in 2005, and hosted newspaper editor Eynulla Fatullayev, who was recently released under President Ilham Aliyev’s pardon decree.

The State Department official said democratic development and respect for human rights have always been on the US government’s agenda. He said the human rights situation "could be better" in Azerbaijan, and if the Azerbaijani government is seeking to boost its ties with the U.S., it should work to reach that goal.

"Reports have been issued by a number of media and rights organizations," he said. "The reports make it clear that there are certain obstacles to free elections and the work of free media and opposition parties. The Azerbaijani government should modernize and fill the ranks of countries that have succeeded with their modernization in the 21st century."