FORMER U.K. PM TONY BLAIR INVITED TO AZERBAIJAN: ‘EMBARRASSMENT TO BRITAIN,’ SAYS MP

Tert.am
13:01 ~U 08.12.09

Tony Blair made an estimated £75 per second for a speech in the former
Soviet republic of Azerbaijan, reports the U.K.’s The Daily Mail.

The former prime minister is thought to have been paid around £90,000
for his 1,000-word speech endorsing a new power plant, which is likely
to have taken no more than 20 minutes to deliver.

He was described as an ‘ embarrassment to Britain’ yesterday by MP
Norman Baker.

"Why doesn’t he just hang a For Sale sign around his neck?" asked
the Liberal Democrat. "There is no engagement he will not attend and
no opportunity to earn money he will turn down. It is no way for a
former Prime Minister to behave."

Blair’s lucrative trip to Azerbaijan included a meeting with Prince
Andrew, who was staying in the same hotel during a private three-day
visit. The prince has been to the Central Asian state seven times
in five years. According to The Daily Mail, Blair also met hard-line
president Ilham.

Aliyev, writes The Daily Mail, has been criticized for alleged human
rights abuses, and his recent election was described as ‘seriously
flawed’ by international observers.

The former PM’s paymaster in Azerbaijan was multi-millionaire Nizami
Piriyev, whose company AzMeCo is building a methanol power plant. The
oligarch, who has business links with Iran, Syria and Afghanistan,
is understood to have booked Blair through the Washington Speakers
Bureau and ‘ covered his expenses’ for the trip, flying him to the
capital, Baku.

In his speech, Blair lavished praise on the power plant and cracked
jokes about the weather.

According to Blair’s spokesperson, "Mr. Blair has no role in
British-Azerbaijan relations. It was simply a coincidence that he
and Prince Andrew were there at the same time. They were both on
unrelated programs."