Azeri government was seeking `easy access` to Trump in Washington. Instead, it lost hotel deal in Baku
Later last week, the Trump Organization announced it has terminated business deals in Azerbaijan in a "housecleaning" move.
The move raised eyebrows among many Caucasus watchers in Washington since it came just a day after Azerbaijan co-hosted a Hanukkah party at Trump D.C. hotel, an attempt that seen by many local observers for gaining access and favor with the incoming Trump administration.
"Although Azerbaijan's involvement in the Hanukkah party was limited with financial contribution, the venue choice for was made by the Azerbaijani Embassy," TURAN's Washington correspondent was informed by two different sources knowledgeable about the issue.
While post soviet Azerbaijan with poor human rights records seems to have seen Donald Trump's victory as an opportunity for "business as usual", Americans are pondering how to convince their President-elect to put his businesses in a blind trust - a mechanism by which his assets would be managed by people with no direct connection to the president.
News of the canceled deal with a Baku hotel also came on same day Trump was expected to publicly address the conflicts of interest presented by his global business dealings.
Trump owns or has a position in more than 500 companies globally, according to local media. His hotel operation, in particular, is on course for a rapid worldwide expansion, from 14 hotels to more than a 100.
The company announced its real estate project in Baku in late 2013, just six months before Trump entered the presidential race. Building with his name in Azerbaijan has faced some problems, but the company is undaunted.
In a response to media reports, Trump Organization official said on Monday that the company terminated its licensing deal for a Baku Hotel based on "the applicable agreement in which it was originally licensed under."
"Mr. Trump has never owned a hotel in Azerbaijan," an official told TURAN. The project apparently stalled because of financial problems.
Although the project was halted the branding fees continued. In his 104-page financial disclosure which was released in May, Trump valued the Baku project fee at $323,150.
Trump's Azerbaijani partner Anar Mammadov, the son of Azerbaijan's transportation minister, drew the scrutiny of international news outlets amid questions about his business as he was described in leaked American diplomatic cables as "notoriously corrupt, even for Azerbaijan."
A.Raufoglu
Washington, DC
Politics
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On December 28 president of Ukrain called to the president of Azerbaijan İlham Aliyev.
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The preliminary investigation into the case of Russian oligarch and former "state minister" of the separatist regime of Nagorno-Karabakh, Ruben Vardanyan, has been completed. According to a joint statement by the Prosecutor General's Office and the State Security Service of Azerbaijan, Vardanyan has been charged under the following articles of the Azerbaijani Criminal Code: Article 100 (planning or waging aggressive war), Article 107 (deportation or coercion of the population), Article 109 (persecution), Article 112 (deprivation of liberty in violation of international law), Article 113 (torture), Article 114 (mercenary activities), Article 115 (violating laws and customs of war), Article 116 (violating laws and customs of war), Article 214 (terrorism), Article 214-1 (financing terrorism), Article 218 (organization of a criminal community), Article 228 (illegal trafficking in weapons), Article 270-1 (creating threats to aviation safety), Article 278 (violent seizure of power or violent retention of power, violent change of the constitutional order of the state), Article 279 (creation of illegal armed formations), Article 318 (illegal crossing of the Azerbaijani state border).
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On December 28, Russian President Vladimir Putin called Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, as reported by the Kremlin's press service. During the conversation, the issues related to the crash of the AZAL passenger plane on December 25 near the city of Aktau were discussed in detail. "Vladimir Putin expressed his apologies for the tragic incident occurring in Russian airspace and once again conveyed his deep and sincere condolences to the families of the victims, wishing a speedy recovery to the injured," the statement emphasized.
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On December 28, the trial of Abzas Media began, with the prosecutor reading the indictment. At the start of the session at the Baku Serious Crimes Court, the accused, the chief editor of Abzas Media, Sevinc Vagifgizi, filed a motion to disqualify the court panel. She argued that the current composition of the judges could not conduct an impartial investigation, as two of the three judges had previously ruled on cases involving political prisoners.
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