U.S. Says 'Remains Focused On Diplomacy' In Addressing Azerbaijan's Crackdown On Dissent

The United States said on Tuesday that it ‘remains focused on diplomacy’ in addressing Azerbaijan’s ongoing crackdown on dissent, TURAN’s Washington correspondent reports.

“We’re going to continue to remain focused on diplomacy,” State Department’s Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel told a daily briefing when asked by TURAN about the latest arrests of civil society members, including a former diplomat and a minority activist in Azerbaijan.

“I don’t have any updates to offer on the things that the United States may be considering otherwise,” Patel said when pressed about the tools that the U.S. had been using to address the issue.

Last week, another government critic, a former diplomat, was detained in Baku on stabbing charges, something that he categorically denies. Separately, the authorities have arrested an ethnic Talysh researcher on charges of treason and inciting ethnic hatred.

Patels comments came days after the State Department’s spokesperson Matthew Miller, in  a tweet, expressed his concerns over the latest arrests in Azerbaijan, renewing calls for the government to release well-known scholar Gubad Ibadoghlu “and all others who are unjustly detained,” as he put it.