Italy intends to stop arms sales to Saudi Arabia

SANAA, Dec. 29 (YPA) – Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said on Friday his government was inclined to halt arms sales to Saudi Arabia and plans to take a formal stand on the issue.

Conte said, at a press conference usually held by the Italian prime minister at the end of the year, to a question on the sale of Italian arms to Riyadh,” We do not favor the sale of these weapons, so it is a matter of turning it into an official position and acting on it.”

Italy ratified in 1990 a law banning arms exports to countries involved in armed conflicts in which human rights are violated, but the former and current Italian governments insist that the law does not apply to Saudi Arabia and its role in the war in Yemen.

The Italian arms company “RWM” in 2016 contracted with Saudi Arabia in a deal worth 411 million Euros,  Including the supply of bombs dropped from the aircraft, as well as laser-guided smart bombs.