What's Duke of York looking for in Azerbaijan?

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Duke of York has courted controversy again by using a private jet to take him on a secret visit to Azerbaijan en route to an official tour of the Middle East.

Despite stepping down from his controversial globe-trotting trade role, Andrew was on his fourth taxpayer-funded foreign trip in just eight weeks when he made the unexplained detour last week.

His office has refused to discuss why he failed to arrive in Qatar until last Sunday, a full four days after he left the UK in his luxury executive plane.

The prince might have made a detour to the former Soviet state of Azerbaijan, to forge links with the country’s controversial president through his former role as a UK trade and investment envoy.

When he finally did make it to his destination he undertook five days of engagements before taking a further five days off in Abu Dhabi on holiday, where he is currently still sunning himself.

To deflect criticism, the Queen’s second son says he will be picking up the bill for the jet himself and only charging the cost of a standard business class ticket to and from Doha to the British Government.

But the disclosures will inevitably add to disquiet over the prince’s role as a working royal, particularly his relationships with the leaders of dubious regimes, as Azerbaijan is considered to be one of the most corrupt countries in the world.

Andrew has visited its leader, President Ilham Aliyev – accused of torturing political opponents and election rigging – eight times in the last six years, with two of the trips described as ‘entirely private,’ The Daily Mail reported.