Spain prevents resale of weapons destined for Middle East

The Spanish Defence Ministry said on Sunday that arms sales conducted by Spain with countries like Saudi Arabia include “end-use assurances” which means the recipient country cannot resell or transfer them to a third party.

In a written response to a parliamentary inquiry submitted by the left-wing Republican party six months ago, the ministry revealed the deals have provided €725 million to the state’s budget between the years 2003 and 2014 in light of the economic crisis.

It added that, in the same period, Spain has sold weapons to other Arab countries such as the United Arab Emirates worth €719 million and Egypt worth €277 million as well as to Saudi Arabia.

The ministry stressed that it strictly adheres to all international standards that control arms exports “especially respect for human rights, internal and regional situation or the risk to resell or transfer the weapons to third parties”.

“If we received confirmations about the existence of dangers to misuse the exported weapons, we will suspend or cancel the sale license,” it added.

The ministry pointed out that Spain joins international calls to respect human rights, and taking all necessary precautions to prevent damages to human lives and infrastructure.