subsequent interview with German broadcaster Deutsche Welle, Roth objected to the Der Tagesspiegel article, saying that he had not been claiming Azerbaijan as a "blueprint" for "freedom" and that the Azerbaijan pavilion exhibition was not about "freedom" but was only about "tolerance and harmony", which Roth described as being "impressive" (in Azerbaijan). Deutsche Welle asked Roth how he felt about "freedom" being separated from "tolerance and harmony" and how his "blueprint for diversity and tolerance" assessment of Azerbaijan fitted with Human Rights Watch's assessment of Azerbaijan. Roth declined to reply to those issues, saying they were not suitable discussions for a live interview. He denied he had been used by Azerbaijan. In a later interview with The Art Newspaper, Roth said that his calling Azerbaijan a "blueprint for tolerance" in his statement "might have been a mistake" but defended his involvement with Azerbaijan, saying that "the art world also needs to talk to regimes it opposes". Roth said he had been working with artists from Azerbaijan for many years. In 2015, while director of the V&A, Roth met with Azerbaijan's Minister of Culture and Tourism and was subsequently invited by Azerbaijan to the 7th Alliance of Civilizations forum held in Baku. In an interview for Berliner Zeitung, Roth said that he had visited Baku just once and that his information about the multicultural character of Azerbaijan had come from Leyla Akhundzade, Azerbaijan's Ministry of Culture and Tourism sector head. An article in The Guardian in September 2017 revealed that Azerbaijan's ruling elite had operated a secret $2.9bn (£2.2bn) scheme to pay prominent Europeans, buy luxury goods and launder money through a network of opaque British companies. Its intention was to deflect criticism of Aliyev and to promote a positive image of his oil-rich country. However, the newspaper also points out that the money arrived via a disguised route and that not all recipients were aware of its original source. Roth is not mentioned in the article. Death Roth died in Berlin on 6 August 2017 at the age of 62. He had been diagnosed as suffering from cancer immediately after his resignation from the V&A. In its obituary of Roth, the Moscow-based media website Vesnik Kavkaza described him as "the man who loved Azerbaijan". Other activities President of the Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen, Germany, 1 July 2017 until his death on 6 August Member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Agenda