Yerevan /Mediamax/. The Washington Post criticized U.S. government’s policy towards Azerbaijani and Turkish Presidents in its editorial.

“Take President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan, who has regularly imprisoned his critics. He released a batch of prisoners before the summit, perhaps thinking that would take the edge off. When Secretary of State John F. Kerry appeared in the Treaty Room with Mr. Aliyev, the secretary offered praise for his guest as a leader in a complex region who has been “very studious and thoughtful.” Mr. Kerry and Mr. Aliyev spoke about energy, the conflict with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan’s role in Afghanistan. About democracy and human rights, they said nothing.

Vice President Biden also met with the Azeri president, and, according to a statement, “welcomed the recent releases from prison of human rights and civil society activists” and “encouraged continued progress, underscoring the importance of civil society and rule of law.” This is the polite, aspirational approach. In fact, Mr. Aliyev does not respect civil society or rule of law,” says the article.

“President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey also has been attempting to silence his critics, including by means of a steadily closing vise on press freedom with the prosecution of journalists. Mr. Biden has spoken out against the press crackdown previously, but it was not mentioned in the statement issued by the White House after his meeting with Mr. Erdogan. Nor did the crackdown come up in the White House’s description of President Obama’s meeting with Mr. Erdogan on Thursday evening. After the summit ended Friday, Mr. Obama said he warned Mr. Erdogan against the “repression of information and shutting down democratic debate,” writes The Washington Post.