BAKU, Azerbaijan – Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Sunday became the second U.S. Cabinet secretary in a month to visit Azerbaijan, seeking to improve a rocky relationship with an authoritarian government that has provided a key transit route to Afghanistan.
For Clinton, the trip was a diplomatic balancing act: her four-day swing through former Soviet bloc countries has emphasized the promotion of democracy. But Azerbaijan has been ruled for 17 years by a father-son duo and has a “poor” human rights record, according to the State Department.
President Ilham Aliyev greeted Clinton warmly in his seaside palace. “I’m sure your visit will strengthen this partnership,” he said.
Azerbaijan has had no U.S. ambassador for more than a year, and it was not invited to President Obama’s Nuclear Security Summit last spring, while its rival Armenia was.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.