The US is troubled by the arrests of opposition representatives in Azerbaijan, and it will ask the Azerbaijani authorities to submit the constitutional amendments for the views of the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).

Mark Toner, Deputy Spokesperson of the US Department of State, noted about the aforesaid at Tuesday’s press briefing.

“And so we would also urge the government to submit the constitutional amendments for a joint Venice Commission and ODIHR [i.e. the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights] opinion as well,” Toner said, in particular.

In addition, Washington is concerned by the August 12 arrest of Natig Jafarli, secretary of the REAL movement of Azerbaijan, as well as the additional arrests of other activists, according to RIA Novosti news agency of Russia.

Pursuant to the draft constitutional amendments submitted by President Ilham Aliyev, Azerbaijan will also have a First Vice President as well as other vice presidents. These constitutional amendments also propose the extension of the president’s term in office from five to seven years.