President Ilham Aliyev received Republican Senator Roger Wicker (Mississippi) and Republican Congressman Christopher Smith (New Jersey), Azartac reported.

The parties “expressed satisfaction with the successful development of bilateral relations” between Azerbaijan and the US, the state news agency said.

They had an exchange of views on a number of issues, including the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the report said.

In an interview with RFE/RL’s Azerbaijani service, Smith said he called for the release of political prisoners, including Anar Mammadli, head of an independent election monitoring group that criticized the October presidential elections in Azerbaijan.

“It is important that we raise these issues by name with information to let the government know that we care about these individuals,” he said. “There needs to be justice for them. That means freedom.”

Bakudaily.az