Azerbaijan, Baku, Feb.22 / Trend H. Hasanov /
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Robert Blake, who recently toured Central Asia, said the world must listen to the lessons learned in Tunisia and Egypt.
"I think it's always difficult to try to make comparisons between one region and another. But I do think that it's important for leaders in relatively closed societies to heed the lessons, to listen to the lessons of what's happened in Tunisia and in Egypt," Blake said addressing a press conference in Ashgabat.
As is well known, under the pressure of revolutionary unrest in Tunisia and Egypt, the two countries' presidents were forced to resign.
A wave of mass protests covered many other Arab countries.
Blake noted that "it points again to the importance of a civil society and to a free media and other such mechanisms to allow youth to express themselves; to the importance of a free market economy so that it can create jobs for young people and allow them to achieve their dreams; as well as to the importance of all governments being responsive to the needs of their citizens".