By Kevin McCauley
Patton Boggs has inked a $35K a-month pact to represent oil rich and human rights poor Azerbaijan, the former Soviet Union republic. It works with Azerbaijan’s Ambassador to the U.S.
Thanks to WikiLeaks, American/Azeri ties have been in the news. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton dialed up Azerbaijan president Ilham Aliyev on Dec. 15 to express regret about a WikiLeaks disclosure of U.S. diplomatic cables that compared him to a mafia boss in “The Godfather” films. She assured him that U.S. ties with Azerbaijan are strong.
In his Dec. 16 briefing, State Dept. spokesperson P.J. Crowley said Alliyev does not believe the cables will impact the long-term relationship between the two countries.
Another WikiLeaks reveals how BP narrowly avoided a potential explosion from a natural gas field leak, 18 months before its Gulf of Mexico spill.
President Obama met with Aliyev in New York during U.N. Week and expressed his hope for democratic reforms and increased human rights protections in Azerbaijan.
Human Rights Watch published a report on Oct. 26 called “Beaten, Blacklisted and Behind Bars: The Vanishing Space for Freedom of Expression in Azerbaijan” that outlines the crackdown on journalists and activists.
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