BAKU. April 4 (Interfax) - The United States' interference in Azerbaijan's internal affairs on the pretext of concerns about human rights observance in the country is unacceptable, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said in Wednesday's phone call with United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
"Indeed, various issues, including this one [human rights in Azerbaijan], were touched upon during the telephone conversation [arranged at the U.S.' proposal on April 3]. President Ilham Aliyev emphasized that attempts to interfere in Azerbaijan's domestic affairs, under the pretext of human rights issues, were totally unacceptable. We reject the biased statements of some Western countries regarding this issue based on double standards," the Azerbaijani presidential press service said in reply to a request for comments from the state-run Azertac news agency.
Aliyev reminded Blinken of arrests of opposition figures and human rights abuses in Armenia, saying that the Western countries' silence about such incidents was "incomprehensible" and constituted "vivid examples of double standards," it said.
"President Aliyev highlighted the case of prominent journalist Julian Assange, who has endured prolonged physical and psychological torture due to his journalistic activities. He noted ongoing discussions concerning Assange's extradition to the United States and the prospect of his execution. The head of state stressed the significance of addressing human rights concerns not only locally but on the global scale," the Azerbaijani presidential press service said.