Prince Andrew is said to have developed a ‘close friendship’ with Azerbaijan’s president Ilham Aliyev, whose regime has been accused of rigging elections and torturing anti-government protestors.
Prince Andrew visited Azerbaijan as an ambassador for the UK in 2005, 2006, 2007 as well as another two visits in 2009. He also made two private trips to the country in 2008.
The president and Andrew are said to be ‘close friends’ and Prince Andrew is oficially known as ‘the dear guest’ on his visits to the country.
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A source told the Daily Mail: “They appear to have common interests and a shared sense of humour. Andrew is always laughing at Ilham’s jokes, which are usually about women.”
Paul Flynn, a Labour backbench MP, said: ‘The Royal Family has no business cultivating friendships with someone who has a record of being a brutal autocrat. The dear friends of today can end up being the murderous dictators of tomorrow. Azerbaijan is a very primitive democracy that doesn’t recognise human rights.’
Meanwhile, Tory MP Andrew Rosindel defended the Duke of York.
“Azerbaijan is an oil-rich country which we could do an enormous amount of trade with,” he said.
“The fact that the Duke of York has built up strong relations with the leaders is a jolly good thing. I commend him for it and I think all he is doing is right.
“Azerbaijan is not a country with our standards of human rights but there are many countries like that that we trade with.”
