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Washington ceased civil society and democracy dialogue with Azerbaijani authorities, information agency Turan reports.

According to the report, Assistant Secretary of State for Human Rights Tom Malinowski planned to visit Baku last week to discuss the ongoing crackdowns on civil society and Western institutions. However, the visit was cancelled at the last moment amid rumors that Azerbaijan rejected the meeting. Earlier, ahead of the presidential elections in 2013, Baku blocked high-profile representative of the Department of State Thomas Melia’s entry to the country.

Speaking to Turan, the Department of State representative ruled out the possibility of Azerbaijani cancellation of the trip. “While the US and Azerbaijan agreed to hold such a dialogue during [Assistant Secretary] Toria Nuland’s February visit to Baku, we simply don’t believe that such a dialogue would be productive right now given the current climate. That’s our judgment, and our decision,” he said.

In these circumstances, some observers in Baku and Washington call on the Obama administration to take “tough steps” against Azerbaijani officials unless the political prisoners are released and the campaign of accusations of the Americans allegedly preparing destabilization of the situation in Azerbaijan ceases. Several observers in Washington support Malinowski’s cancellation of the visit for the dialogue with Baku “didn’t make sense” in the current situation, Turan correspondent writes.

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