Haley Barbour Back in the Money, Will Lobby the U.S. on Behalf of Ukraine
Haley Barbour, the former governor of Mississippi, head of the Republican National Committee and one of the world's most powerful lobbyists, is going to work for the Ukrainian government to lobby the United States government, Reuters is reporting.
Barbour and his Washington lobbying firm, BGR Group—which he claimed to be leaving behind when he ran for governor of Mississippi, where he served two terms—are taking on the role at a tense time in relations between the United States and Russia. As a part of the former Soviet Union, the Ukraine is a hotbed for Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin that he is working hard to control, including a controversial invasion in 2014.
"The hiring of Barbour and his lobbying firm BGR Group comes at a time when U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's public embrace of Russian President Vladimir Putin has increased worries in Washington that the new administration may side with Russia in the Ukrainian dispute," Reuters reported.
"Russia has increased its military presence in Ukraine since annexing the Crimean peninsula in 2014."
Read more: http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/news/2017/jan/06/reuters-haley-barbour-will-lobby-us-behalf-ukraine/
Cross-posted in the Foreign Affairs Group.