Giuliani defends business ties

WASHINGTON, Dec. 9 (UPI) -- Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor seeking the Republican presidential nomination, defended his global business ties in an interview Sunday.

Appearing on NBC's "Meet the Press," Giuliani defended working with Qatar's Interior Ministry, whose officials have had close ties with terrorists such as Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. Giuliani said his security firm helped Qatar, a U.S. ally, improve its security.

He said contentions by a CIA officer that he took money from the same accounts that protected Khalid are "just totally wrong" and "distorted."

"The relationship is not with any of those people. The relationship is with a ministry that does planning," Giuliani said.

Giuliani responded to critics who question his law firm's representation of the oil and gas company Citgo when it is controlled by leftist Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, and his business relationship with a Hong Kong billionaire with close ties to North Korean leader Kim Jong Il.

"When you deal with clients, and you take on the problems of clients, and you try to help them, it may be that somewhere, someplace, they did something that was questionable or arguably questionable," Giuliani said. "The things we have done with them are honorable, ethical, useful, and helpful."