The UK government is able to make independent decisions only when the US does not consider it a strategic concern, political analyst Carlos Martinez told Sputnik on Tuesday, commenting on London's refusal to follow US President Joe Biden in suspending arms sales to Saudi Arabia for offensive use in Yemen
LONDON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th February, 2021) The UK government is able to make independent decisions only when the US does not consider it a strategic concern, political analyst Carlos Martinez told Sputnik on Tuesday, commenting on London's refusal to follow US President Joe Biden in suspending arms sales to Saudi Arabia for offensive use in Yemen.
"Suspending arms sales to Saudi Arabia is a secondary concern, and is something the US government is only pursuing as part of a bid to restore its tarnished image in the international community. In such a situation, Britain can feel free to pursue a more reactionary position than that of the US," Martinez told Sputnik via e-mail.
On February 4, Biden announced that the US was stepping up its diplomacy to end the war in Yemen, including through the suspension of arms sales to Riyadh, which in 2015 launched an operation to support the internationally recognized government forces.
On Monday, the minister for the Middle East and North Africa in the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, James Cleverly, told Parliament that the US government's decision was in the interests of the United States and that the UK makes its own decision about selling weapons.
"The decisions the US takes on matters of arms sales are decisions for the US. The UK takes its own arms export responsibilities very seriously, and we continue to assess all arms export licences in accordance with strict licensing criteria," Cleverly said.
Martinez claimed, however, that while Cleverly claims that the UK government makes its own decisions, this has not always been the case.
"For example, the UK did exactly what (then US secretary of state) Mike Pompeo demanded when it came to shutting Huawei out of its 5G infrastructure, even though this was an act of economic self-harm for Britain," the London-based political analyst and author said.
According to Martinez, the new cold war against China is a key concern for Washington and US allies are expected to fall in line.
The Campaign Against Trade Arms also criticized on Tuesday the UK government's refusal to follow the US and ban arms exports for use in the war in Yemen, claiming that together with US, UK arms are playing a central role in the Saudi-led destruction of the Arab country.
"Now even the US is curbing its arms sales, while the UK government is continuing to fuel the war. They must change course now and work to support meaningful peace," Sarah Waldron from CAAT said in a press release.
Campaigners also cited official figures showing that the UK government has licensed �1.4 billion ($1.9 billion) worth of weapons sales to Saudi Arabia since July, 2020.
Yemen has been engulfed in an armed conflict between the government forces led by President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and the Houthi rebels since 2014. A coalition of states led by Saudi Arabia launched an operation to support the internationally recognized Hadi government in 2015. The Houthis continue to maintain control over a vast part in the north of the country, including the capital Sanaa.
