Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has sent a letter to Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo vehemently opposing the Commerce Department’s apparent plans to consider granting a license to permit the export of rifles – possibly including assault-style or sniper semiautomatic rifles – to Azerbaijan, reports the Armenian Assembly of America.
Highlighting well-documented and credible allegations of Azerbaijan’s atrocities against Armenians – including the deaths and displacement of thousands of Armenians in the wake of the 2020 Nagorno Karabakh War and the 2022 invasion of Armenia, in addition to Baku’s ongoing blockade of the Lachin Corridor – Chairman Menendez urged Secretary Raimondo to ensure that no lethal weapons are sent to any persons or entities in Azerbaijan.
“The export of weapons to an authoritarian country that wages war against a neighbor, blockades a vulnerable population, and commits rampant human rights violations at home is not consistent with the Administration’s commitment to democracy and human rights,” Chairman Menendez wrote. “I am strongly opposed to sending any deadly weapons to Azerbaijan.”
