US Plans to Provide $700,000 in Military Education Aid to Azerbaijan: Reasons Revealed

The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee is discussing the budget for the State Department for 2024. The State Department plans to implement military education programs with Azerbaijan in 2024, justifying that Azerbaijan has a significant border with Iran, participates in NATO exercises, and "this may contribute to the western orientation of its military."

According to Armenpress, Bob Menendez, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, expressed serious concerns about the military aid provided to Azerbaijan by the U.S. Menendez voiced his frustration during hearings where U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was testifying.

“In the past year, we have seen how Azerbaijan has seized Armenian territories, creating a food security crisis in Artsakh through the ongoing blockade... Over the last five years, we have witnessed Azerbaijan provoking war, resulting in 6,500 deaths and almost 100,000 Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh being displaced from their homes. I am concerned about providing assistance to Aliyev's regime,” Menendez stated.

He noted that the State Department has asked for $700,000 for the international military education and training of Azerbaijani military personnel.

“Can you explain to the American people why we want to provide military education and training to an aggressor state that is attacking its neighbor and violating the rights of its citizens?” Menendez directed at Blinken.

“There are practical reasons for that; one is to enhance interoperability between their forces, our forces, and NATO. They are engaged in peacekeeping efforts. They have a long border with Iran that needs protection. But we also believe it is truly beneficial to increase the western education of their senior officers, perhaps their orientation,” Blinken replied.

This response outraged Bob Menendez. “I hope that during this western education they did not learn what they have done—blocking these people, starting a conflict, 6,500 dead; I hope that is not western education,” Menendez noted.