The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry responded to the US Embassy: You are cowards yourself

The head of the press service of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry, Ayhan Hajizade, responded to the US Embassy, which called the authorities' policy of "suppressing free media" "cowardly".

"Let's not forget that the real cowardice is how, for purely geopolitical purposes, US institutions, presented as "well—known, honest and impartial," present lies as truth and as justification of human rights. The unfounded claims against Azerbaijan by the United States, which positions itself internationally as human rights defenders and ignores many human rights, are a vivid example of double standards," Hajizadeh said.

Criticism can be as effective as pressure when the critic's intention is pure and his morale is high, he stressed. Learning from the mistakes of the past is the main condition for future successful steps, he added.

Earlier, the US Embassy posted a post on the X network regarding Azerbaijan.

"International criticism of the government's suppression of free media and civil society is the result of one thing — the government's suppression of free media and civil society," the post says.

It is alleged that since November 2023, "almost three dozen journalists and bloggers have been arrested."

"Is it 'cowardly' to ask why? Or is the actual cowardly act here an attempt to distract the Azerbaijani public from this fact?" — the American Embassy writes.