Despite an extensive delivery stop, the federal government has approved exports of armaments to Saudi Arabia. This emerges from a letter from Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck to the Economic Committee of the Bundestag, which is available to several news agencies.
Accordingly, Germany wants to deliver equipment and ammunition for Eurofighter and Tornado combat aircraft worth 36 million euros. As part of a joint program with Italy, Spain and Great Britain, the Gulf monarchy will also receive spare parts for the Airbus A330 MRTT worth 2.8 million euros.
Export stop since 2018
The government of the SPD, Greens and FDP is using an exemption for the export ban for the first time since the beginning of their term of office, which has been in effect since November 2018 – among other things because of the Kingdom’s involvement in the Yemen war and because of the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi four years ago . According to US intelligence services, the Saudi leadership is responsible for the crime committed in the Saudi consulate general in Istanbul.
Chancellor Scholz was a guest of the Saudi Crown Prince bin Salman last Saturday (09/24/2022).
The previous government of Union and SPD had made use of the planned exceptions within the framework of so-called collective export permits. The traffic light coalition is now following this course. A spokesman for the Federal Ministry of Economics recently told the Catholic News Agency (KNA): “Germany’s special obligations towards NATO allies are being fulfilled. In this context, export permits are possible as an exception.”
Approvals shortly before departure
Last Saturday, Chancellor Olaf Scholz held talks in Saudi Arabia with his crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, who has since been appointed head of government. It was also about an energy partnership between Germany and the world’s largest oil exporter, which is also investing on a large scale in hydrogen technology and renewable energies. According to information from the magazine “Der Spiegel”, the export permits were issued shortly before the chancellor’s trip.
Left-wing MP Sevim Dagdelen sharply criticized the decision that has now become known. The leader of her party in the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Bundestag told the “Spiegel” that the most recent exports show “the true face of an allegedly value-based foreign policy that courts the brutal crown prince and journalist murderer Mohammed bin Salman, who is waging war against the civilian population in Yemen and any opposition suppressed in their own country”.
yy/ww (dpa, kna, mirror)
