Azerbaijan President Aliyev makes wife Mehriban his deputy

Azerbaijani foreign relations under Aliyev included strengthened cooperation with the European Union (EU), using caviar diplomacy, with Russia, with NATO via the NATO–Azerbaijan Individual Partnership Action Plan,[6] and with the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). The New York Times described Aliyev’s foreign policy as being pro-Western, selling oil and gas to Europe and Israel, promoting a moderate form of Islam, and hosting “lavish international events”.