Speaking to journalists after a meeting with U.S. Ambassador Reno Harnish, Sardar Jalaloglu said, "We made it clear: if the U.S. is for democracy, we'll work with them. But if U.S. interests call for the stifling of freedom here, we'll stand in their way, as we're struggling for the interests of the Azerbaijani people, not for those of the U.S."
The U.S. Embassy in Baku and the State Department recognized the official results of Azerbaijan's November 6 parliamentary elections, which the opposition believes to have been rigged.
Opposition leaders responded by accusing Washington of double standards and of failure to meet its commitment to supporting democracy in the country.
Harnish dismissed the criticisms, saying the U.S. had made a large contribution to promoting democracy in Azerbaijan this year, and that while it stopped short of disputing the official outcome, it agreed with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe that the Nov. 6 elections had fallen short of international democratic standards.
