Apparently Richardson and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger sent letters of congratulations to the Consulate General of Azerbaijan for celebrating 91 years of being a parliamentary republic.
I'm not quite sure about the translation here, but from what I can tell, Richardson's letter said something along the lines of:
Azerbaijan is America’s reliable friend and a strong ally in combating international forces of extremism, said the Governor and added that Azerbaijani soldiers have been standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the Americans from the Balkans to Iraq to Afghanistan in defense of common values and ideals. Throughout history, Azeris, including growing Azeri American population, have made many contributions to literature, the arts and sciences, sports.
The article goes on to say Richardson "is the energy minister of the United States as well. Azerbaijan’s Consul General Elin Suleymanov met with him during his visit to New Mexico in April."
Actually Ricahrdson was U.S. Energy secretary from 1998 until the end of 2000. That's kind of like being energy "minister."
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