USAID says govt puts obstacles to its work in Azerbaijan

BAKU, Azerbaijan – The U.S. Agency for International Development says the government in the former Soviet republic of Azerbaijan is putting up obstacles to its operations in the country.

Brock Bierman, USAID’s Assistant Administrator in Europe and Eurasia, told reporters on Wednesday during a visit to the Caspian Sea country that he met with the top officials to raise the issues that partners of USAID face in Azerbaijan, including the taxation system. Bierman said that despite words of reassurance from government officials, the U.S. agency sees that “the doors are not open for business here in Azerbaijan.”

USAID has run into trouble with former Soviet governments before.

Several months after President Vladimir Putin was re-elected in 2012, USAID was forced to end its operations in Russia after authorities accused it of meddling in politics.