Azerbaijan Rejects 'Disgusting' U.S. Human Rights Criticism Before COP29

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on October 4 rejected what he called a "disgusting" letter from U.S. lawmakers who criticized his country's human rights record and urged it to free political prisoners before it hosts next month's COP29 climate conference. The letter, signed by nearly 60 lawmakers, urged Secretary of State Antony Blinken to "press for the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners, hostages, and POWs, including ethnic Armenians, to enable a more conducive environment for successful diplomacy at COP29." It said that "provocative" Azerbaijani statements toward Armenia risked undermining peace negotiations between the two countries, which have fought two wars since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Speaking in Cabrayil, a town recaptured from Armenian forces in the 2020 war, Aliyev called the letter "a disgusting appeal that cannot influence our will" and said it had been drawn up "to threaten and accuse us."