Details added (first version posted on 14:57)
Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 17
By Seba Aghayeva - Trend:
The bill submitted to the US Congress by the Helsinki Commission, acting under Chris Smith's chairmanship, is anti-Azerbaijani in nature and is unacceptable, said Azerbaijani foreign ministry's spokesman, Hikmat Hajiyev.
"The document's initiator, Chris Smith, has always taken a pro-Armenian stance and is under influence of the Armenian lobby in the US," Hajiyev told Trend Dec. 17.
The US Helsinki Commission earlier presented an anti-Azerbaijani bill to the Congress.
Hajiyev said there is no doubt that the bill, aimed against Azerbaijan, was prepared by the Armenian lobby in the US on the eve of congressional election.
"Such steps may also adversely affect the image of the US among the public of Azerbaijan," noted Hajiyev.
Edited by SI