Category: Selected Articles

Earlier this week, the FBI raided the Laredo, Texas, home of Rep. Henry Cuellar. According to ABC News, the raid was made in connection with an ongoing investigation linked to Azerbaijan. While little is known about this specific FBI probe, which CNN reported involves the Department of Justice’s Public Integrity Section, Cuellar’s relationship to Azerbaijan is well documented.

In fact, an Azerbaijani organization Cuellar has had close ties with over the years was previously the subject of an FBI investigation, with its president pleading guilty to charges of wooing members of Congress by serving as a front for the nation’s wholly owned oil company.

In January 2013, Cuellar and his spouse flew to Turkey and Azerbaijan on a trip sponsored by an entity calling itself the Turquoise Council of Americans and Eurasians, according to congressional disclosure reports. The trip for the Cuellars cost just south of $20,000 and was approved by the House Ethics Committee.

Kemal Oksuz, listed as Turquoise Council president, told the Ethics Committee that no foreign money paid for the trip, according to disclosures, but that claim is questionable given events that unfolded not long after.

In 2018, Oksuz pleaded guilty to concealing the fact that a separate congressional trip in May 2013 to Azerbaijan had been funded by a foreign government; he was sentenced in 2019. Oksuz had claimed that the trip in question was paid for by the Turquoise Council and the Assembly of the Friends of Azerbaijan, both of which purport to promote regional and transnational cooperation. In truth, the trip was paid for by SOCAR, the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic, a wholly owned national oil and gas company.

Court documents show that Oksuz wired $750,000 from SOCAR in order to organize travel for 10 House members and their staff to Azerbaijan. (Cuellar did not go on this second trip.) Prior to this deposit, the Assembly of the Friends of Azerbaijan, one of the nonprofits involved in the travel scheme, had only $283.15 in its checking account.

The Assembly of the Friends of Azerbaijan was founded shortly after Cuellar’s January trip, but Oksuz served as head of both, and as the Office of Congressional Ethics later reported, “Records suggest that this individual used the entities interchangeably.” And Cuellar’s itinerary for the January 2013 trip, on file with the Ethics Committee, shows a “briefing” at SOCAR and, later that evening, “dinner with SOCAR Executive Team.”

The relationship bore fruit. In July 2013, Cuellar spoke at a Washington, D.C., reception in honor of SOCAR, along with its president, Rovnag Abdullayev, to highlight the importance of a pipeline to deliver natural gas to Europe.

That pipeline and related projects are pivotal to the national interests of Azerbaijan. SOCAR is the largest company and source of tax revenue in Azerbaijan. The company has embarked on ambitious plans to expand its international footprint, including a network of pipelines that stretch through multiple countries to deliver gas into Europe. The so-called Southern Gas Corridor, built by SOCAR in partnership with BP and other Western energy giants, required an investment of over $45 billion.

Later that year, in September 2013, Cuellar and other lawmakers sponsored a resolution in Congress expressing support for Azerbaijan’s Southern Gas Corridor project, stating that it was in the “U.S. national interest” to support construction and work closely with the governments of Turkey, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and others in the region to have the pipeline completed. The resolution was adopted by the House Foreign Affairs Committee by unanimous consent. In 2020, a portion of the pipeline across the Adriatic Sea began commercial operations to deliver gas from Azerbaijan to Italy.

“My thanks to Congressman Cuellar for his playing a very instrumental role for this affiliation.”

In April 2015, Cuellar announced an affiliation agreement between Texas A&M International University and the Assembly of the Friends of Azerbaijan, described in a Cuellar press release as an “educational and cultural organization” — but which we now know, by Oksuz’s admittance, was a front for the Azerbaijan oil company.

“My thanks to Congressman Cuellar for his playing a very instrumental role for this affiliation,” Oksuz is quoted saying in Cuellar’s press release. “He is the cause of this TAMIU-AFAZ Affiliation Agreement. This agreement will give a very ample opportunity to TAMIU faculty and students not only they will study international energy law, politics of energy, environmental impacts and strategy management, but also they will meet and network with people from public and private sectors.”

In May 2015, the Office of Congressional Ethics published a report detailing the funding violation orchestrated by Oksuz. The FBI began probing too. In announcing his eventual guilty plea, the Department of Justice said that Oksuz had laid bare the scheme:

According to admissions made in connection with his guilty plea, Oksuz lied on disclosure forms filed with the Ethics Committee prior to, and following, a privately sponsored Congressional trip to Azerbaijan.  Oksuz falsely represented and certified on required disclosure forms that the Turquoise Council of Americans and Eurasions (TCAE), the Houston non-profit for which Oksuz was president, had not accepted funding for the Congressional trip from any outside sources.  Oksuz admitted to, in truth, orchestrating a scheme to funnel money to fund the trip from the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR), the wholly state-owned national oil and gas company of Azerbaijan, and then concealed the true source of funding, which violated House travel regulations.

Oksuz was also a campaign donor to Cuellar, records show. The Cuellar campaign received $1,000 from Oksuz in June 2012 and another $2,500 in February 2015.

Cuellar, a co-chair of the Congressional Azerbaijan Caucus, continued to promote Azerbaijan’s interests. Following the devastating Armenia-Azerbaijan War in 2020, fought over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, Cuellar petitioned his congressional colleagues to ensure that any humanitarian aid for the conflict would be “provided through the Government of Azerbaijan or U.N. organizations” and not given directly to Armenia.

A letter making the funding request, signed by Cuellar, was circulated by the BGR Group, a lobbying firm that represents the Azerbaijani Embassy, according to records on file with the Department of Justice.

Azerbaijan has been caught up in repeated scandals around the world in which it has been probed for attempting to bribe legislators. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe released a report in 2018 saying that its former members had engaged in “corruptive activities” with the Azerbaijan government. The German Bundestag last year also backed a corruption probe, according to Transparency International, after “the Azerbaijani Laundromat investigation showed how a network of slush funds financed such ‘caviar diplomacy’ through opaque payments to politicians across Europe.”

The gifts and payments to European policymakers were made in part to shape support for the same Azerbaijani oil and gas interests that had financed the 2013 congressional junket. “Azerbaijan is particularly keen to present a positive image in Europe because it needs significant European support for its flagship project — the Southern Gas Corridor — despite the regime’s serial human rights abuses, systemic corruption and election rigging,” noted a group of human rights watchdogs, including Platform and Bank Watch, commenting on the scandal.

Cuellar faces a serious challenge from human rights lawyer Jessica Cisneros in a March 1 Democratic primary. Cuellar did not respond to a request for comment.

The Wall Street Journal journalists Corinne Ramey and James Fanelli write that the wife of US Senator Bob Menendez, Nadine Arslanian, is drawing scrutiny in a federal probe, Report informs.

Investigators are examining whether Nadine Arslanian received gifts or services from individuals who sought favors from New Jersey’s senior senator.

Armenianophile and Turkophob Bob Menendez has been a US senator since 2006 and serves as chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

The US attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York has subpoenaed associates of Menendez’s wife, Nadine Arslanian, whom he married in 2020, the WSJ writes. Subpoenas issued in recent months have asked for information about both Arslanian and Menendez, according to the sources.

The probe is separate from a 2015 public-corruption case prosecutors brought against Menendez, which led to a mistrial.

The probe dates back to at least 2019. Late that year, court records show, federal investigators executed search warrants at the home and office of Wael Hana, the founder of IS EG Halal, an Edgewater, N.J., company that was designated the only business allowed to certify halal meat being exported to Egypt. Hana is an associate of Arslanian, according to the people familiar with the matter.

Prosecutors were investigating possible undisclosed foreign lobbying in the US and other potential violations of federal law, according to court documents filed in 2020 by Lawrence Lustberg, a lawyer for Hana, who was seeking the return of property seized by the government.

Prosecutors in recent months also subpoenaed New Jersey lawyer Antranig Aslanian, a longtime friend of Nadine Arslanian who has represented Wael Hana. Antranig Aslanian said that when prosecutors questioned him about Arslanian, he told them that he had known her for 25 years and that they were both Armenian.

Aslanian said he had no idea what prosecutors were looking for.

Menendez and Arslanian live in Englewood Cliffs, N.J. Media reports about the couple’s engagement and wedding identify Arslanian as an international businesswoman.

She attended New York University and studied international politics, she said in a 2020 interview posted on YouTube.

State business records show Arslanian is the president of Strategic International Business Consultants LLC, a holding company that was incorporated in New Jersey in 2019. The senator’s financial disclosure forms showed she worked for Fusion Diagnostics Laboratories, a New Jersey medical testing company. She worked for a short time in sales and marketing, Fusion’s chief executive, Moataz Abdalla, said.

In the 2015 public-corruption case against Menendez, federal prosecutors alleged he accepted about $1 million in gifts—including flights on a private jet and vacations—from a Florida ophthalmologist.

Senator Menendez has been considered one of the prominent lobbyists of the Armenian diaspora in the US for many years. As we can see in the case of Florida ophthalmologist Salomon Melgen, he did not do it for free. Since 1995, Menendez has been one of the most active functionaries of the so-called Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues.

Menendez blocked a resolution allowing the US to sell helicopters to Azerbaijan, as well as the appointment of Matthew Bryza as US ambassador to Azerbaijan.

Besides, he blocked US military assistance to Azerbaijan and the sale of F-16 fighter jets and components to Turkiye.

In order to get updated of the latest situation in Armenia and
Garabagh, where the separatist forces are still located, it is no
longer necessary to search for the Armenian press. The Senate of
the United States of America has almost become the daily newspaper
of Armenia – giving fresh tiding; whatever the situation is inside,
the same atmosphere exists in the Senate. There is only one issue
that the voices from the Senate are more excited and more
aggressive than those from Yerevan. For example, Senator Robert or
simply Bob Menendez, a 69-year-old American politician, is so
excited every time he stands in front of the tribune talking about
Armenia that he almost drowns in his own sweat. Bob is so
pro-Armenian that he would almost give the whole world a gift for
Armenia. But Menendez has one thing missing; it’s that he himself
can’t understand anything from what he’s talking about. Indeed, the
old senate has become so emotional that sometimes he believes the
lies he tells himself.

Menendez’s commitment to Armenians is as strong as Caroline
Cox’s in the British Parliament. In other words, Armenian blood was
injected into the blood of both old armenophiles. The only
difference between the two characters is that Menendez is a bit
greedy, that is, avid for money. Bob Menendez also had an
interesting story in 2015 about his corruption issue in the court
just because of being apt to receive bribe. The senator, who is
easily lured by money or some gifts, repeatedly poked his nose into
an issue he did not know deeply due to the money invested in his
account from the Armenian lobbies. The fact that the senator, who
has never put a step in Garabagh and has a simple understanding of
the Caucasus region, presented false images to the Foreign
Relations Committee just for the sake of his pre-paid work, is a
clear proof of all that has been said. Although Menendez is a
lawyer, he does not know the secrets of his position. Of course,
without knowing the region, how can making claims from thousands of
kilometers away help lobbyists pouring millions into the pockets of
the corruptionists like Menendez? He just wins, because his mission
is just to care about his account but not Armenians even if he
vehemently shouts out words of sanctions. Who cares though? Because
even though he doesn’t know anything about Garabagh, he still knows
this business very well.

Thus, the situation in the United States does not directly
express Washington’s position towards Azerbaijan. On the contrary,
the United States tries to find a way out of such a situation at
many points. First of all, the United States will never want to
lose Azerbaijan, which is one of the most reliable allies of the
West, and cannot directly pressure Azerbaijan even on the most
critical issues related to Armenia. The final situation was
actually a momentary sabotage plan from the armenianized US Senate
aimed at the South Caucasus. Currently, the situation in the US
Senate is complicated. Because Yerevan and the forces working to
feed the separatists have put such a leash on the neck of people
like Menendez that neither the US State Department nor the White
House can speak out.

However, unlike them, Azerbaijan can always say its word.
Because the international laws written by the West are supreme for
Azerbaijan, even if they are worth the bribes they receive. No
matter how hard people like Robert Menendez try to impose tough
sanctions against Azerbaijan and its leadership, in the end,
Azerbaijan gets what it wants. And as it happened… Although the
Aghdam-Khankendi road was blocked by the separatists for a long
time, in the end it was not what they wanted, but what Azerbaijan
wanted.

First, they wanted to create an illusion, ostensibly there was a
starvation and humanitarian crisis in Khankendi. All Armenian and
pro-Armenian media outlets circulated the fabricated pictures and a
term of “genocide”, the one which Menendez tried to fake at the
tribune. Besides, the local residents said on social networks that
the leaders of the separatist gang took away products brought by
the ICRC or the Russian Peacekeepers to aggravate the situation
further. However, it did not work and first, the separatists were
obliged to step back and release extra meat products in Khankendi
on August 20. According to the so-called statement, on September 17
they were obliged to step back a second time against internal
pressure. The regime accepts that it is not always possible to
provide the daily 200 grams of bread available to a citizen under
the coupon system.

In general, there is only one option for separatist and
lobbyists in Garabagh, Yerevan, or the Senate: to take action
according to the demands and conditions of Azerbaijan. In fact, all
these processes could have been resolved a long time ago. It is a
fact that earlier, an agreement on the simultaneous opening of
these was reached on September 1. The separatists expediently
delayed this process.

Despite all their fruitless efforts, Azerbaijan’s principled
position once again prevailed.

Now there is a priority for them – to end the resistance, not to
rely on empty words from the US Senate and, finally, to take steps
for reintegration. Because this is the only way out for the
Armenian minority in Garabagh.

—

Elnur Enveroglu is AzerNews’ deputy editor-in-chief, follow him
on @ElnurMammadli1

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz

In order to know the current situation in Armenia and Garabagh,
where the separatist forces are still located, it is no longer
necessary to search for the Armenian press. The Senate of the
United States of America has almost become the daily newspaper of
Armenia – giving fresh tiding; whatever the situation is inside,
the same atmosphere exists in the Senate. There is only one issue
that the voices from the Senate are more excited and more
aggressive than those from Yerevan. For example, Senator Robert or
Bob Menendez, a 69-year-old American politician, is so excited
every time he stands in front of the tribune talking about Armenia
that he almost drowns in his own sweat. Bob is so pro-Armenian that
he would almost give the whole world a gift for Armenia. But
Menendez has one thing missing; it’s that he himself can’t
understand anything from what he’s talking about. Indeed, the old
senate has become so emotional that sometimes he either believes
the lies he tells himself, or because he is not aware of it, he
goes out of his conscious for a moment.

Menendez’s commitment to Armenians is as strong as Caroline
Cox’s in the British Parliament. In other words, Armenian blood was
injected into the blood of both fake armenophiles. The only
difference between the two characters is that Menendez is a bit
greedy, that is, avid for money. Bob Menendez also had an
interesting story in 2015 about his corruption issue in the court
just because of his greed. The senator, who is easily lured by
money and bribes, repeatedly poked his nose into an issue he did
not know deeply due to the money invested in his account from the
Armenian diaspora and lobbies. The fact that the senator, who has
never touched a step in Garabagh and has a simple understanding of
the Caucasus, presented false images to the Foreign Relations
Committee just for the sake of his work, is a clear proof of all
that has been said. Although Menendez is a lawyer, he does not know
the secrets of his position. Of course, without knowing the region,
how can making claims from thousands of kilometers away help
lobbyists pouring millions into the pockets of the corruptionists
likes of Menendez? Menendez just wins, because his mission is just
to care about his account but not Armenians even if he vehemently
shouts out of some sanctions. Who cares though? Because even though
he doesn’t know anything about Garabagh, he still knows this
business very well.

Thus, the situation in the United States does not directly
express Washington’s position towards Azerbaijan. On the contrary,
the United States tries to find a way out of such a situation at
many points. First of all, the United States will never want to
lose Azerbaijan, which is one of the most reliable allies of the
West, and cannot directly pressure Azerbaijan even on the most
critical issues related to Armenia. The final situation was
actually a momentary sabotage plan from the armenianized US Senate
aimed at the South Caucasus. Currently, the situation in the US
Senate is complicated. Because Yerevan and the forces working to
feed the separatists have put such a leash on the neck of people
like Menendez that neither the US State Department nor the White
House can speak out.

However, unlike them, Azerbaijan can always say its word.
Because the international laws written by the West are supreme for
Azerbaijan, even if they are worth the bribes they receive. No
matter how hard people like Robert Menendez try to impose tough
sanctions against Azerbaijan and its leadership, in the end,
Azerbaijan gets what it wants. And as it happened… Although the
Aghdam-Khankendi road was blocked by the separatists for a long
time, in the end it was not what they wanted, but what Azerbaijan
wanted.

First, they wanted to create an illusion, ostensibly there was a
starvation and humanitarian crisis in Khankendi. All Armenian and
pro-Armenian media outlets circulated the fabricated pictures and a
term of “genocide”, the one which Menendez tried to fake at the
tribune. Besides, the local residents said on social networks that
the leaders of the separatist gang took away products brought by
the ICRC or the Russian Peacekeepers to aggravate the situation
further. However, it did not work and first, the separatists were
obliged to step back and release extra meat products in Khankendi
on August 20. According to the so-called statement, on September 17
they were obliged to step back a second time against internal
pressure. The regime accepts that it is not always possible to
provide the daily 200 grams of bread available to a citizen under
the coupon system.

In general, there is only one option for separatist and
lobbyists in Garabagh, Yerevan, or the Senate: to take action
according to the demands and conditions of Azerbaijan. In fact, all
these processes could have been resolved a long time ago. It is a
fact that earlier, an agreement on the simultaneous opening of
these was reached on September 1. The separatists expediently
delayed this process.

Despite all their fruitless efforts, Azerbaijan’s principled
position once again prevailed.

Now there is a priority for them – to end the resistance, not to
rely on empty words from the US Senate and, finally, to take steps
for reintegration. Because this is the only way out for the
Armenian minority in Garabagh.

NEW YORK

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan received Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili at the Türkevi Center, or Turkish House, in New York City on Sunday, where they discussed the importance of implementing the Middle Corridor.

Erdogan highlighted the swift operationalization of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway as a key priority, according to the Turkish Presidency.

The Trans-Caspian East-West-Middle Corridor Initiative, also known as “the Middle Corridor,” which begins in Türkiye and passes through the Caucasus region via Georgia and Azerbaijan, crosses the Caspian Sea, traverses Central Asia and reaches China, is one of the most important components of efforts to revive the ancient Silk Road, according to Türkiye’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

During their meeting, Erdogan also thanked Georgia for its support after the major earthquakes in Türkiye in February, said a statement from Türkiye’s Communications Directorate.

Erdogan also stressed the importance of closing schools run by the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) in Georgia and freezing their assets and
congratulated the Georgian administration for the steps taken on this issue, according to the statement.

The two leaders also stressed the importance of increasing the trade volume between Türkiye and Georgia from $3 billion to $5 billion.

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