Obama Received $7,000 Worth Gift From Azeri Officials In 2013

OBAMA RECEIVED $7,000 WORTH GIFT FROM AZERI OFFICIALS IN 2013

17:22, 12 Nov 2014

Top US officials, including President Barack Obama and first lady,
appear to have received expensive gifts from Azeri officials last
year, according to the State Department’s annual accounting of gifts
published in the Federal Register on Tuesday.

Elin Suleymanov, Azeri Ambassador to the US, presented President
Obama with a large Azerbaijani rug with red, white and blue geometric
designs worth $6,560 on December 5th 2013, while first lady Michelle
Obama received a traditional Azerbaijani red headscarf worth $435,
according to the official records.

Secretary of State John Kerry also was handed by the ambassador
a 24.5â~@³ O 39â~@³ hand-woven silk rug worth approximately $760,
last December in Washington DC, while his then-top diplomat to Baku
Richard Morningstar was given a 39.25â~@³ O 47.25â~@³ silk carpet
last November worth $625.

Safar Abiyev, Azerbaijan’s former defense minister presented Chuck
Hagel, Secretary of Defense wine serving set worth of $600, during
his trip to Washington, DC last August.

Besides gifts, the Azeri government officials also appeared to have
upgraded a bunch of top US gov’t officials travels to business class
while flying from Baku to Paris last August, according to the official
records.

The State Department’s report comes just hours before several top
American elected officials are reportedly to gather tonight at the
luxury gala dinner hosted by Ambassador Suleymanov and a son of an
Azeri multi-billionaire minister in the US Capital, Contact.az reports.

Dozens of guests from the US administration, Congress, diplomatic
corps and think tanks are estimated to attend the dinner named
“Celebrating the Natural Beauty of Azerbaijan,” at the Andrew W.

Mellon Auditorium in Washington, D.C.

Among the “Honorary Host Committee” of today’s gala there will be dozen
of lawmakers, such as Congresswoman Corrine Brown, Senator Richard
Burr, Congresswoman Marcia Fudge, Congressmen Michael Fitzpatrick,
Steve Cohen, Cory Gardner, Gene Green, Billy Long and many others,
according to the source. The official organizer of the event is shown
as Azerbaijani American for Alliance, a group chaired by Anar Mammadov,
son of Azerbaijan’s transportation minister Ziya Mammadov.

None of the mentioned above immediately returned a request for comment
on Tuesday.

Mammadov has paid at least $2 million for covering expenses of 2012
gala dinner, according to the official records.

Last year, Mammadov’s organization spent $5 million for a single
DC lobbying group Fabiani& Company to establish contacts with the
US officials.

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From: Mihran Keheyian
Subject: Obama received $7,000 worth gift from Azeri officials in 2013

Obama received $7,000 worth gift from Azeri officials in 2013

17:22, 12 Nov 2014

Top US officials, including President Barack Obama and first lady,
appear to have received expensive gifts from Azeri officials last
year, according to the State Departmentâ??s annual accounting of gifts
published in the Federal Register on Tuesday.

Elin Suleymanov, Azeri Ambassador to the US, presented President Obama
with a large Azerbaijani rug with red, white and blue geometric
designs worth $6,560 on December 5th 2013, while first lady Michelle
Obama received a traditional Azerbaijani red headscarf worth $435,
according to the official records.

Secretary of State John Kerry also was handed by the ambassador a
24.5â?³ Ã? 39â?³ hand-woven silk rug worth approximately $760, last
December in Washington DC, while his then-top diplomat to Baku Richard
Morningstar was given a 39.25â?³ Ã? 47.25â?³ silk carpet last November
worth $625.

Safar Abiyev, Azerbaijanâ??s former defense minister presented Chuck
Hagel, Secretary of Defense wine serving set worth of $600, during his
trip to Washington, DC last August.

Besides gifts, the Azeri government officials also appeared to have
upgraded a bunch of top US govâ??t officials travels to business class
while flying from Baku to Paris last August, according to the official
records.

The State Departmentâ??s report comes just hours before several top
American elected officials are reportedly to gather tonight at the
luxury gala dinner hosted by Ambassador Suleymanov and a son of an
Azeri multi-billionaire minister in the US Capital, Contact.az
reports.

Dozens of guests from the US administration, Congress, diplomatic
corps and think tanks are estimated to attend the dinner named
â??Celebrating the Natural Beauty of Azerbaijan,â?? at the Andrew W.
Mellon Auditorium in Washington, D.C.

Among the â??Honorary Host Committeeâ?? of todayâ??s gala there will be
dozen of lawmakers, such as Congresswoman Corrine Brown, Senator
Richard Burr, Congresswoman Marcia Fudge, Congressmen Michael
Fitzpatrick, Steve Cohen, Cory Gardner, Gene Green, Billy Long and
many others, according to the source. The official organizer of the
event is shown as Azerbaijani American for Alliance, a group chaired
by Anar Mammadov, son of Azerbaijanâ??s transportation minister Ziya
Mammadov.

None of the mentioned above immediately returned a request for comment
on Tuesday.

Mammadov has paid at least $2 million for covering expenses of 2012
gala dinner, according to the official records.

Last year, Mammadovâ??s organization spent $5 million for a single DC
lobbying group Fabiani& Company to establish contacts with the US
officials.

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