Saudi Arabia slams Germany's arms embargo

Amnesty International activists protesting against the flogging punishment of Saudi blogger Raif Badawi are reflected in the lettering ‘Saudi’ outside Saudi Arabia’s embassy to Germany in Berlin on January 29, 2015 [TOBIAS SCHWARZ/AFP via Getty Images]

Saudi Arabia, yesterday, criticised Germany’s arms embargo, describing the act as a “very wrong signal.”

The Saudi Foreign Minister, Faisal Bin Farhan, told dpa that the Kingdom was “in need of weapons to defend itself against Houthi attacks from neighbouring Yemen.”

“We do not need weapons to be aggressive but, rather, to be able to protect our country and people,” he said, adding that the Kingdom had been cooperating with Germany on armament “for a long time”.

The Minister stressed that Saudi Arabia was “keen on continuing our partnership with Germany,” warning that the Kingdom would “get what we need, whether from Germany or anywhere else.”

In November 2018, the former German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, had halted arms exports to Saudi Arabia. The incumbent government, led by Olaf Scholz, the Social Democratic Party, the Green Party and the Free Democratic Party, recently said they would continue an arms embargo on Saudi Arabia.

The German government had previously allowed some exceptions for joint NATO projects, under which it had issued export licenses to Saudi Arabia.

READ: German politician urges new government to stop arms exports to Egypt, Saudi Arabia

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