Germany Rescinds Approval for Saudi Arms Sales
The German government halts previously approved arms exports to Saudi Arabia amid fallout from the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.WASHINGTON — The Latest on the slaying of journalist Jamal Khashoggi (all times local):
8:05 a.m.
The German government says it has halted previously approved arms exports to Saudi Arabia amid the fallout from the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Germany said a month ago it wouldn’t approve any new weapons exports to Saudi Arabia, but left open what would happen with already approved contracts.
Germany’s economy ministry oversees the authorization of arms exports. Ministry spokesman Philipp Jornitz said Monday that “the German government is working with those who have valid authorizations with the result that there are currently no (weapons) exports from Germany to Saudi Arabia.”
Also on Monday, Germany’s foreign minister said Berlin has banned 18 Saudi nationals from entering Europe’s border-free Schengen zone because they are believed connected to Khashoggi’s killing. Heiko Maas said there are still “more questions than answers.”
___
6 a.m.
Germany’s foreign minister says Berlin has banned 18 Saudi nationals from entering Europe’s border-free Schengen zone because they are believed to be connected to the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Heiko Maas told reporters in Brussels on Monday that Germany issued the ban for the 26-nation zone in close coordination with France, which is part of the Schengen area, and Britain, which is not.
He says “as before, there are more questions than answers in this case, with the crime itself and who is behind it.”
Maas says the 18 are Saudis who are “allegedly connected to this crime” but gave no further information.
In Berlin his office said they can’t release the names due to German privacy protections.
___
12:30 a.m.
President Donald Trump said there is no reason for him to listen to a recording of the “very violent, very vicious” killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, which has put him in a diplomatic bind: how to admonish Riyadh for the slaying yet maintain strong ties with a close ally.
Trump, in an interview that aired Sunday, made clear that the audio recording, supplied by the Turkish government, would not affect his response to the Oct. 2 killing of Khashoggi, a columnist for The Washington Post who had been critical of the Saudi royal family.
Trump said he “was fully briefed on it, there’s no reason for me to hear it.” Trump is expecting a full report on the situation soon.
Your support is crucial...As we navigate an uncertain 2025, with a new administration questioning press freedoms, the risks are clear: our ability to report freely is under threat.
Your tax-deductible donation enables us to dig deeper, delivering fearless investigative reporting and analysis that exposes the reality beneath the headlines — without compromise.
Now is the time to take action. Stand with our courageous journalists. Donate today to protect a free press, uphold democracy and uncover the stories that need to be told.
The most recent manifestation of the urge to engage in an “arms race” will no doubt create more insecurity in an already unstable world.
A deep-seated denial about the colonial ideology undergirding gun rights in the U.S. has hampered the left's approach to arms control.
Since at least 2001, the Saudis and Israelis have successfully reframed American policy in the Greater Middle East, and the results have been disastrous.
The president's arms sales are meant to promote pork-barrel politics, while pumping up the profits of U.S. weapons manufacturers. As for human rights or human lives, who cares?
President Trump’s new national security adviser has been instrumental in launching wars and scrapping arms treaties.
You need to be a supporter to comment.
There are currently no responses to this article.
Be the first to respond.