“Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov are politicians with true leader qualities,” Steven Mann, a special envoy of the U.S. Secretary of State on conflicts in Eurasian region and Caspian basin diplomacy, told the Turkish television company NTV.
According to Mann, Azerbaijan today has a good leader as President Ilham Aliyev.
В"The positive political reforms in the country will continue, while oil revenues will be mostly for increase of the welfare of ordinary citizens,” Mann noted that there are a lot of strong politicians in Azerbaijan.
Touching upon the U.S. policy in regard to Turkmenistan, Mann said that the White House on Ashgabad differs from the policy in regard to Azerbaijan.
В"Some U.S. senior officials state that democracy and freedom can be achieved through violence, as it was in Iraq,В" Mann said.
As to the White House policy on Near East region, the U.S. special envoy reminded of unseen political changes taken place in the region over the past one and half year.
“The White House officials rebuff the assertions by political specialists and experts on pro-U.S. support to such reforms,” Mann said. Washington has repeatedly stated it would be inappropriate to use of notion �export of democracy’ in regard to such events.
Besides, it would be more appropriate to use notions �growing’ or �support’ to democracy, which enables to say on possibility of further �velvet revolutions’, Mann noted..
В"Those who assert that the last political changes in the Eurasian region are backed by the United States, tries to distort the real goals of the White House. If you carry out inquiry among citizens where the changes were held, you will mare anew sure that the events were the result of long-term process. The key role in this context is taken by the opposition, as the democracy cannot be imposed from out,” he stressed.
В"Both the United States and Turkey should be happy with the reforms and make relevant conclusions,В" Mann underlined, adding the historical changes that happened in Georgia, Ukraine and Iraq.
In the conclusion Mann clarified the White House plans on hydrocarbon resources, noting that the U.S. policy in this issue is quite concrete. В"We want more comfortable in the trade environment, durability of the political stability and economic development of states in the region,В" Mann said.
В"The United States supports the independence and sovereignty of states possessing big reserves of energy resources. We hope to establish a coalition with the countries which share the position of the White House,В" Mann noted.