Riyadh expects the German government to lift embargo on arms export to the kingdom, Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud said on Monday in and interview with the DPA news agency
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 17th February, 2020) Riyadh expects the German government to lift embargo on arms export to the kingdom, Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud said on Monday in and interview with the DPA news agency.
In 2019, Berlin extended its ban on arms exports to Saudi Arabia for six more months until March 31. The embargo was initially imposed in the fall of 2018 amid criticism toward Riyadh over the assassination of opposition journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in the Turkish city of Istanbul.
"We hope that Germany understands that we need means to defend ourselves," the minister said.
The minister recalled that last September, the Saudi Aramco petroleum company's oil facilities were attacked, with Riyadh blaming Iran for the incident. According to him, the fact that Berlin refuses to grant permission for arms supply "does not fit in the framework of good relations" between the two countries.
Last year's drone attacks, for which the Houthis also took responsibility, triggered a decrease in the country's oil production and a spike in global oil prices.
