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WASINGTON DC. August 31, 2010: Yesterday, TURAN’s Washington DC correspondent interviewed Gerard Libaridian, the former foreign policy advisor for the Armenian president Levon Ter-Petrossian. Libaridian, currently a professor of Department of History at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, agreed to respond to the questions of the Turan News Agency.

Question: How do you assess the recent military agreement between Russia and Armenia? Some local Armenian experts say Armenia has lost the last part of it independence, do you agree?

WASHINGTON DC. July 15, 2010: This week the Azeri service of the Voice of America interviewed David Kramer, the former US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, currently the Senior Transatlantic Fellow with German Marshall Fund. Below is the full text of the interview:

- US State Secretary Hillary Clinton recently completed her visit to Azerbaijan. Many observers were hoping that this trip would have a positive impact on Azerbaijani government’s actions on the human rights front. But shortly after her visit, journalist Eynulla Fatullayev was sentenced to a lengthy prison sentence. Another blogger temporarily released to attend his father’s funeral was returned to prison. What are your thoughts on the current state of affairs?

- I think they are not good and they seem to be getting worse.

WASHINGTON DC. July 12, 2010: (TURAN’s interview with Margarita Assenova, founder and Executive Director of the Institute for New Democracies, in Washington, DC)
- How important is Azerbaijan for the US as an ally and why? What is the reason for the West, including the US,to tolerate the current situation in this region? How would you comment on the opinion that the US exchanged democracy for oil in the South Caucasus and Central Asia?

- I think Azerbaijan is a very important country for the United States and Europe because of its location in the Caspian basin, its role in providing alternative energy supplies to Europe, and its proximity to Iran. Azerbaijan is a secular Muslim country, which is an example of how Islam and democracy can co-exist. This is a very important example, given that the U.S. has been promoting such a concept of Muslim society in Afghanistan and Iraq.

WASHINGTON DC. July 10, 2010:  Following Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's trip last week to Eastern Europe and the South Caucasus, RFE/RL’s Washington correspondent Heather Maher asked U.S Assistant Secretary of State Michael Posner, the top U.S. diplomat for human rights and democracy, for an assessment of what Clinton accomplished and of the rights situation throughout the region as a whole.

RFE/RL: How is Secretary Clinton's trip to Eastern Europe and the South Caucasus being assessed within the State Department?

Michael Posner: I would say, in general, I think people felt very good about the trip. It was a chance -- and in cases, her first [chance] as secretary of state -- to visit some key countries in the region, both to discuss shared interests and concerns and to strengthen relationships, but at the same time, to reach out to civil society and to express concerns about differences.

WASHINGTON DC. June 30, 2010: US State Department officials held a press briefing to answer the questions of journalists about the upcoming visit of Hillary Clinton to Ukraine, Poland, Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Georgia. Below is the excerpt of that press briefing:
QUESTION: Let me just ask quickly too, how much energy is going to be part of this trip? And President Obama, at his latest letter to President Aliyev mentioned that he’s aware of some serious issues in U.S.-Azerbaijani relations. How does State Department define those issues and which ones you’re trying to address during this trip?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY GORDON: Sure, I think, without fail, energy is a high priority issue for all of – in one way or another, for all of the countries the Secretary will be visiting. Our Special Envoy for Eurasian Energy issues Ambassador Dick Morningstar will be on the trip in Ukraine and Poland. In the Caucasus, energy is a critical issue and it absolutely will be a key part of the discussions. I think serious issues with Azerbaijan are clear. These are all serious issues. Energy is a key issue with Azerbaijan, the relationship with Armenia in Nagorno-Karabakh is a serious issue, regional security. So, yes, the agenda will be full of serious issues to discuss and that’s why the Secretary’s going is because there’s lots to talk about.

QUESTION: Sir, by serious issues, does the President mean serious disagreements? It sounded as if there were disagreements in between U.S. and Azerbaijan.

WASHINGTON DC. May 11, 2010: David Kramer, former US Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, has refuted claims that he was viewed as a candidate for being the US ambassador to Azerbaijan. Kramer, who currently serves as Senior Transatlantic Fellow at the German Marshall Fund in Washington DC, said it was not true, adding “I confess I had to laugh a little when I read that,” commenting on articles in the local newspaper Yeni Musavat.

Turan’s Washington correspondent asked Kramer the following questions:

WASHINGTON DC. April 2, 2010: (Turan`s Washington correspondent interview with David Kramer, former US Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, who currently serves as Senior Transatlantic Fellow at the German Marshall Fund in Washington DC)

Question: It is nine months already that the US has not appointed a new ambassador to Azerbaijan. There are no high level visits between the two countries during the recent times. Do you believe that might be any message to Baku from Washington DC?

BAKU. March 9, 2010: Miklos Haraszti, a former Hungarian dissident, member of parliament, writer, and journalist, completes his 6-year term as the OSCE's Media Freedom Representative on 10 March. In this interview with OSCE Web Editor Sarah Crozier, he reflects on his work and its ongoing challenges.

Question: How would you characterize the situation for journalists today in the OSCE region?

BAKU. March 4, 2010: Turan News Agency interviewed Gabriel Keller, the French ambassador to Azerbaijan asking questions about the foreign and domestic policy issues affecting the relations between Azerbaijan and France.  Below is the full text of the interview:

BAKU. March 2, 2010: Rushana Huseynova, the widow of Monitor magazine’s murdered editor-in-chief Elmar Huseynov, has emigrated to Norway. Recently, she has filed a lawsuit at the European Court of Human Rights against the Azerbaijani government with help from the Norwegian Helsinki Committee. Huseynova and Berit Lindeman, chairman of the Norwegian Helsinki Committee, answered questions from Turan.

- Why did you decide to take the matter to court?