The German SWR radio and television network has made new revelations about how German politicians lobbied for Azerbaijan.
It is noted that several politicians of the current Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Party have been criticized for their ties with Azerbaijan. According to SWR information, their lobbying continued.
“Azerbaijan, a small state, is far away, but now it appears more often in the headlines. A huge explosion rocked the Caspian Sea natural gas field this week. Before that, UEFA was holding football matches of the European Championship in the capital Baku. This has been criticized as the regime of President Ilham Aliyev has been accused of human rights abuses and rigged elections for years. For a long time, Aliyev did not need to worry about the image of his government, as German politicians defend the state with remarkable frequency. The SWR document is now shedding light on it,” the website writes.
Azerbaijani lobbyists have put pressure on the German Foreign Ministry over Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh).
“The lobbying of several members of the Bundestag was more far-reaching for the authoritarian regime in Azerbaijan than previously known. According to the SWR survey, Christian Democrat MPs from Baden-Württemberg Nicholas Lobel, Olav Gutting, Eberhard Gienger, Axel Fischer and then MP Mark Hauptmann tried to put pressure on the Foreign Ministry in a ‘letter of protest’ in December, 2019. The letter received by SWR refers to the conflict over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. The deputies demand ‘clarification’ on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and Armenia’s alleged “illegal” actions.
Until now, it was only known that four of the five deputies had conducted identical polls on the issue in the Bundestag in September 2019. SWR recently reported that the initiative came directly from the Azerbaijani Embassy. The embassy employee wrote an e-mail to Bundestag member Eberhard Gienger. “We will be very happy if you follow up on this issue and study together with Mr. Lobel the possible reactions of the Bundestag to the Armenian approach,” the website writes.
The politicians did not stop at the written inquiry, but wrote a letter to the Minister of Foreign Affairs Heiko Maas (SPD). In it, members of the Bundestag complain that the Federal Government has only evasively responded to questions raised in the Bundestag. Inquiries from SWR as to whether this letter was also the result of an initiative by the Azerbaijani embassy were left unanswered by members of the Bundestag.
Heidelberg SPD member Lothar Binding called the approach absurd. For him, “it is quite inexplicable that the partners are so naive, they do not see how they are being abused there, or they did it consciously, but it will be irritating, because in that case they consciously supported the dictatorship.” Things that can no longer be explained at all.
The MPs involved did not deny to SWR that the inquiries took place, but they insisted that they did not receive any financial benefits.
The prosecutor’s office is currently investigating a possible corruption case against MP Axel Fischer.
