Story highlights Giuliani's business connections have raised conflict-of-interest concerns.

Giuliani did business with Serbian politicians.

(CNN) Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, in a 2012 appearance on Serbian television, discussed his then-ongoing consulting work for Serbian politicians as well as work he did in other foreign nations.

Giuliani, who is a top contender to be nominated by President-elect Donald Trump as secretary of state, has faced scrutiny in recent days for his foreign consulting work and legal representation of foreign governments. Those connections have raised conflict-of-interest concerns that could complicate his ability to serve as the nation's top diplomat.

The former mayor appeared on 'Evening With Ivan Ivanovic,' a late night Serbian talk show, in April 2012, during a visit to the European nation to consult with Serbian politician Aleksandar Vucic, who at the time was running for mayor of Belgrade. Vucic, now the prime minister of Serbia, is a former hardline nationalist who was once aligned with autocrat and convicted war criminal Slobodan Milošević. As minister of information in the late 1990s, Vucic instituted fines for journalists who criticized the government and banned some media . Vucic later moderated and expressed regret for his past actions.

During his trip, Giuliani also met with Tomislav Nikoli, who was running for president of the country that year. Both Vucic and Nikoli are members of the Serbian Progressive Party.

"We're here to give advice to Mr. Vucic, who is running for mayor, about economic development and about how to organize a program to redevelop Belgrade, make it into a great world city," said Giuliani, adding he wanted to help the city lower unemployment and debt. "Those are things I'm an expert on, it's what I did in New York City, and I've advised other cities throughout the world about how to straighten up those problems."

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