After finishing his 25-year career tossing up softball questions to interviewees, American TV host Larry King appears to have found a way to cash in on his well-deserved reputation for bootlicking.

He was in Kyiv last week to “interview” Prime Minister Mykola Azarov. A few days earlier, he had been announced as a special adviser to iron ore miner Black Iron, which owns permits to develop two iron ore mines in central Ukraine.

It turns out the interview with Azarov may not be broadcast. It could just be a “friendly social discussion,” according to the company.

After the meeting, King gave a press conference where he sang Azarov’s praises, calling the veteran politician a “straightforward and honest person” who “would have been a successful U.S. politician.”

This assessment doesn’t tally with the Soviet-style dinosaur who set up the country’s aggressive State Tax Administration and, if the Mykola Melnychenko tape recordings are to be believed, has crimes to answer for during his service under President Leonid Kuchma (1994-2005).

King was in Ukraine on a mission for Black Iron. It is unclear what he asked for in the meeting with Azarov, but the method of trying to get what he wanted left no room for doubt.

The prime minister will certainly be pleased to have his reputation burnished by the fawning King. Perhaps that will have swayed him to satisfy whatever Black Iron may be requesting. It says a lot about the primitive way that business is done in Ukraine – you have to talk to one of the top guys to get what you need.

But there is a broader context: Visits by famous foreign people who praise the current authorities send the wrong message as Kyiv is becoming increasingly isolated amid rising authoritarianism.

King did provide a moment of humor, drawing laughter from journalists when he said that Azarov likes former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and was sorry to see her jailed.

King said he was surprised and couldn’t understand the reaction from journalists who attended the press conference in the government building.
For the sake of King’s wallet, let’s hope Azarov better understood what his famous interlocutor was seeking.