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For years, Azerbaijan has papered over its dismal human rights record by presenting itself to the United States as a loyal partner in the “war on terror,” a stalwart friend to Israel, and an important energy supplier. In addition to traditional diplomacy, it has advanced these messages through aggressive lobbying in the world, in state legislatures, and in the halls of Congress, Foreign Policy writes.

According to Foreign Policy, mandatory filings by the Azerbaijan government and its U.S. lobbyists reveal that, in total, it and its proxies spent at least $4 million to this end in 2014 alone. This February, the Azerbaijani embassy increased the monthly retainer of its main lobbyist, the Podesta Group, from $50,000 to $75,000. The Podesta Group’s filings reveal hundreds of contacts with congressional offices, executive branch agencies, members of the media, and think tanks. As a result, Azerbaijan managed to ''buy influence'' in Washington. Needless to say, no mention was made, in any of these statements, of the Aliyev regime’s well-documented abuses of its own citizens.

The article reads that these are public statements made on the floor of Congress — but a large fraction of this kind of rhetoric takes place at private functions. A congressional staffer who wished to remain anonymous described receptions organized by pro-regime groups, such as the Azerbaijan America Alliance, where up to 20 members of Congress at a time would “line up at the podium” waiting for their turn to praise Azerbaijan for its economic successes, its partnership with the United States, and its friendship with Israel.

Meanwhile, it is noted that in May 2015, the Washington Post published a damning exposé of an all-expenses-paid trip 10 members of Congress and 32 staff members took to Azerbaijan in May, 2013. The trip was secretly funded by SOCAR, the country’s state-run oil company. 

According to Foreign Policy, aside from generally bolstering its image, there are at least two specific reasons why the government in Baku is so keen to build support in Congress. One is to create a counterweight against its 'sworn enemies,' the Armenians. The other is to ward off burgeoning efforts by the human rights community to press for sanctions against key regime individuals, as human rights are violated in the country in every way.

Foreign Policy highlights that such glittery spectacles like the Eurovision contest in 2012, European Games in this year and the Formula 1 Grand Prix next year — are meant to showcase the country as a modern, developed member of the international community. To make sure this message isn’t marred by inconvenient references to political prisoners, the government barred both international human rights organization Amnesty International and the Guardian from entering at the last minute. International organization Freedom Now speculates that this is intended to counteract the negative press Azerbaijan is receiving in the run-up to the games.

Related:

The Washington Post: State Oil Company of Azerbaijan secretly spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on US Congressmen

Azerbaijani lobby’s fiasco in US: Azerbaijan fails to pass resolution that distorts history