The move, announced by the State Department in the Federal Register, means that Washington will not automatically deny export licenses or permits to companies seeking to sell arms to the Rwandan government and its military.
“The policy of denial will remain in place for exports or other transfers of defense articles and defense services ... for use or originating in Rwanda other than by the government of Rwanda," the department said.
The US imposed the embargo in 1994, pursuant to a UN Security Council call for the restriction that was spurred by the ongoing civil strife in Rwanda.
The change leaves only seven nations on the list of countries to which Washington has proscribed weapons sales: China, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Liberia, Myanmar, Somalia and Sudan.
The US also severely restricts arms sales to Belarus, Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Syria and Vietnam. – Sapa-AFP.
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