AFP news agency quoted German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock as saying on January 7 that the country is ready to allow the sale of Eurofighter aircraft to Saudi Arabia, after years of blocking such deals with the Gulf country.
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| Germany has no objection to Britain considering further Eurofighter sales to Saudi Arabia. (Source: AFP) |
Speaking to reporters during a visit to Israel, the German Foreign Minister emphasized Saudi Arabia's role in the Middle East's security crises since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas conflict on October 7, 2023.
According to the German diplomat, Saudi Arabia and Israel have "not abandoned their policy of normalization" since the conflict broke out and "the fact that Riyadh is currently intercepting missiles launched by Houthi forces against Israel underlines this".
"Saudi Arabia is an important contributor to Israel's security, even these days, and is helping to prevent the risk of conflict in the region," said Foreign Minister Baerbock.
The German foreign minister said Berlin was "very grateful" for Saudi Arabia's actions and that the Gulf state's air force also used Eurofighters in this context was "an open secret".
Therefore, the German Foreign Minister has now affirmed that the German government does not object to the UK considering other Eurofighter aircraft sales to Saudi Arabia.
Germany, Britain, Italy and Spain are involved in building the Eurofighter, and each country has the right to reject the deal to sell the aircraft.
In 2018, Germany imposed an arms embargo on Riyadh following the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul, Turkey.
The ban includes blocking a deal to buy 48 Eurofighter jets that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman signed with Britain in the same year 2018.
| Saudi Arabia is an important contributor to Israel's security, even these days, and is helping to prevent the risk of conflict in the region. |
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock is on her fourth trip to the Middle East since the conflict in the Gaza Strip broke out.
According to the plan, during her visit to Israel from January 7, Ms. Baerbock will hold talks with new Foreign Minister Israel Katz and President Isaac Herzog of the host country about the regional situation.
During her visit, Ms. Baerbock will meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and his counterpart Riyad al-Maliki.
After meetings with Israeli and Palestinian leaders, Ms Baerbock will travel to Egypt to meet her counterpart Sameh Shoukry. The German foreign minister is also scheduled to visit Lebanon.
The talks will focus on the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, the situation in the West Bank and the instability on the Israel-Lebanon border, as well as efforts to secure the release of additional hostages.
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