Hillary Clinton Reaches Out To Azerbaijan President For Damage Control

The United States on Thursday apologized to Azerbaijan as WikiLeaks churned out cables comparing Azerbaijan President to a mafia boss of “The Godfather” films.
Published: December 16, 2010
Tejinder Singh - AHN News Correspondent
Washington, D.C., United States (AHN) - The United States on Thursday continued damage control operations in diplomatic relations globally, the latest being with Azerbaijan as WikiLeaks churned out cables comparing Azerbaijan President to a mafia boss of “The Godfather” films.
Addressing journalists at the regular State Department briefing, spokesman PJ Crowley confirmed that the U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday afternoon made a phone call to Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev to discuss “the strategically important partnership between our two countries.”
Taking “the opportunity to convey her regrets for the WikiLeaks disclosures, Clinton in her telephone call, “reiterated to President Aliyev that the U.S. relationship with Azerbaijan remain strong.”

Asked to comment on Azerbaijan President’s response to Clinton’s regret, Crowley told journalists, “He simply indicated that he did not think that alleged cables would affect our long-term relationship.”

Crowley said "Azerbaijan remains a key partner of the United States," something the secretary had reiterated during her visit to Baku last July.

Noting that Azerbaijan works with the U.S. as a member of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) coalition in Afghanistan, Crowley said the Central Asian country also cooperates on counter-terrorism.

Earlier a leaked cable from WikiLeaks alleged that the incumbent president Aliyev, had become “increasingly authoritarian” after succeeding his father Heydar Aliyev as president of ex-Soviet Azerbaijan in 2003.

A.Bez