Cekuta: Transparent election carries weight for United States

Baku. 23 February. REPORT.AZ/ Representatives of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR) will come to observe the presidential elections in Azerbaijan.

Report informs, US Ambassador to Azerbaijan Robert F. Cekuta told reporters, commenting on the upcoming presidential elections in Azerbaijan.

"It is important for the United States that voters can participate in elections, to vote freely, it carries weight for us that the elections to be transparent," Cekuta said.

He added that representatives of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR) will come to observe the presidential elections.

Speaking about the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, diplomat stressed that the US takes an active role in the settlement process within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group, and tries to take steps towards the settlement.

“At all levels we try to make sure that the parties could reach a peaceful settlement to the conflict," US ambassador added.

Cekuta noted that US policy is "to help Azerbaijan to be a strong, developed independent democratic country."

"And we work in three directions here - economics, security and the rule of law, democracy and human rights," he said.

He pointed out that the US is also working to strengthen cooperation with Azerbaijan in the security sphere, particularly, in Afghanistan.