"In fact, the situation in Azerbaijan is better than in many of those countries,” Ali Hasanov, head of the social and political department at President Ilham Aliyev’s office, said on January 22.

"We are not lagging behind any Western nation when it comes to (free) media, transparency, democracy and protection of human rights,” he said. "The situation isn’t better in (Western) country. 

"Having said that, we are not claiming that Azerbaijan is free of problems and that Azerbaijani society has been insured against problems. No country can claim that.”

Hasanov added that "no country can teach” Azerbaijan democracy.