Tony Blair

Former leader of the British Labor Party, 73rd Prime Minister of Great Britain (from 1997 to 2007). The record holder among British Laborites for the length of stay at the head of the party.

Speaking about the visit to Baku, T. Blair noted that he always had a great interest in Azerbaijan: “Earlier, when I was prime minister, I did not have enough time for such visits. However, my current status allows me to do it often. I look forward to my next visit to Azerbaijan”. Source: apa.az

 

Tony Blair: “The more the British learn about your country, the more they are surprised.”

 

Tony Blair: “I believe that in the future Azerbaijan will become even more important for Great Britain”. Source: trend.az

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The second of Tony Blair’s speech in Baku cost almost 100 manats?

The British newspaper The Daily Mail published an article claiming that Tony Blair made a speech in Azerbaijan, every second of which cost about 75 pounds per second. At today’s rate, this is approximately 100 Azerbaijani manats.

The former prime minister is believed to have been paid about 90 thousand pounds for a speech of 1000 words. This speech lasted no more than 20 minutes.

A member of the British Parliament Norman Baker called this case “driving Britain into paint”:

“Why does not he just put a” Sell “sign on his neck?” – Asked a representative of the Liberal Democrats, “What, are there no other ways to earn money? This behavior is unworthy of the former prime minister”.

About the visit to Azerbaijan

Tony Blair’s trip to Azerbaijan included a meeting with the British Prince Andrew, who was in the same hotel as he, as part of his private three-day visit. Prince Andrew visited the countries of Central Asia seven times in the last five years.

Blair also met President Ilham Aliyev.

The head of Azerbaijan is criticized for human rights violations, writes Daily Mail. The recent presidential elections were described by international observers as “having serious shortcomings”.

The “treasurer” of the former prime minister in Azerbaijan was a billionaire Nizami Piriyev, whose AzMeCo company owns a methanol plant under construction.

The oligarch, who has business ties with Iran, Syria and Afghanistan, is believed to have reached an agreement with Tony Blair through Washington and “covered the expenses” for the trip, bringing him to Baku.

In his speech Tony Blair lavished praise on the power station and joked about the weather.

51-year-old Nizami Piriev, managed an oil company established under Gazprom in Russia. Then – the company involved in the development of the petrochemical complex of Syria.

Daily Mail notes that the son of Nizami Pirieva, Nasib, who is the executive director of AzMeCo, said: “Blair flew in response to our invitation. We hope that in his speeches around the world he will mention Azerbaijan and our company for the production of methanol”.

Blair earnings

According to estimates made in 2007, after the leadership of the British government was completed, Blair had a fortune of 15 million pound sterling.

Last month, it turned out that he had agreed with Tesco for 1 million pound sterling, although no agreement had been signed.

JP Morgan, an American investment bank, paid him 2.5 million pounds for consultations, and financial structures in Zurich – 2 million pounds.

Tony Blair also said that he received 5 million pounds of honor in advance, for his memoirs.

According to Blair’s spokesman: “The former prime minister does not play any decisive role in the British-Azerbaijani relations. It’s just a coincidence that he and Prince Andrew were there at the same time. They were both invited by various programs”.

P.S. As reported on December 7, the Swiss newspaper “Van-katrer”, because of the crisis, celebrities’ fees, on average, fell by 20%. Moreover, due to the consequences of the crisis, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair began to receive significantly fewer proposals for paid performances.

The newspaper emphasizes that Tony Blair in order to speak, for example, in Switzerland, it takes about 100 thousand US dollars.

Source: radioazadlyg.org

Tony Blair, money from Azerbaijan and Blair Petroleum (BP)

The former British prime minister will soon appear in front of the parliament of this country, where he will have to answer questions about how he “was going to earn millions of pounds, being an adviser on the gas pipeline that promotes the regime of Azerbaijan, “the Azerbaijani portal haqqin.az writes with reference to the British newspaper Sunday Times. In the discussions that will be held on the initiative of the parliament, questions of transparency of the income received by Tony Blair for services rendered to foreign countries will be touched upon.

The Sunday Times notes that before that Tony Blair repeatedly avoided such discussions and refused to report for income, citing the fact that he is no longer an official or a parliamentarian. According to the rules existing in the UK, the Prime Minister of the country can become an advisor abroad only two years after his resignation. The Sunday Times writes that among the clients of Tony Blair also was the president of Kazakhstan, who paid him 8 million pounds annually for advice. After that, Tony Blair decided to become an adviser on the gas pipeline, thanks to which Azerbaijani gas should enter the European market. At the same time, the newspaper does not forget to mention that the government of Azerbaijan is often criticized for attacks on civil society.

Meanwhile, Tony Blair’s office claims that information on the amount of allegedly received funds is fiction, but it refuses to disclose more exact figures.

Director of the organization Human Rights Watch for Europe and Central Asia, Hugh Williamson also criticizes Tony Blair for the fact that the latter receives money from the Azerbaijani authorities. The organization believes that either Tony Blair should criticize the human rights situation in Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, or must stop receiving money from these countries.

Source: armedia.am