Germany’s SDP supports embargo on arming Saudi Arabia

SANAA, Feb. 26 (YPA) – The German Social Democratic Party, which is a part of the ruling bilateral coalition, plans to extend ban on arms exports to Saudi Arabia, despite pressures on Berlin by Britain and France.

“We will fight to continue to stop arms exports to Saudi Arabia until after the end of the ban on March 9, since the reasons that have been pushed,” Rolf Muetzenich, deputy chairman of the SPD faction in the Bundestag, said in an article published by his party’s Vorwaerts newspaper on Monday.

The party stressed the need for a common European policy of arms exports within the framework of the EU common foreign policy.

“The future policy should not simply be a reproduction of the” weak restrictive practices “that France, Britain and Italy are pursuing in their arms exports to Saudi Arabia” Rolf Muetzenich added.

He stressed that “the common and legally binding export regime of all Member States alone could prevent the superiority of the competitive advantages of arms exports to respect for human rights and international law”.

The party also proposed the establishment of a European parliamentary body, which would oversee compliance by EU countries with common arms export rules and be empowered to punish violators, he said.

Germany, against the backdrop of the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi last October, imposed a total ban on its arms exports to Saudi Arabia.

The ban also includes German-made spare parts used in joint military ventures between Germany, Britain, France and Spain.

The German embargo has disrupted a number of European arms sales deals to Riyadh, including the supply of Eurofighter Typhoon fighters.

Britain and France have asked Germany to exempt the major joint defense projects from the embargo, otherwise, it would damage its commercial credibility.

E.M