Moving away from the green agenda
Baerbock approves Eurofighter for Saudi Arabia
January 7, 2024, 10:30 p.m
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Contrary to what was stipulated in the coalition agreement, the federal government is allowing Great Britain to supply Eurofighters to Saudi Arabia. Foreign Minister Baerbock justifies the departure with the Gulf state’s constructive role in the war in the Middle East.
The federal government is moving away from its rejection of arms exports to Saudi Arabia. Germany will “not oppose” British considerations about exporting Eurofighter fighter jets to the kingdom, said Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock in the evening during a visit to Jerusalem. To justify this, the Green politician referred to Saudi Arabia’s constructive role in Middle Eastern crisis diplomacy.
Great Britain has wanted to deliver Eurofighter jets to Saudi Arabia for a long time, but needs the approval of the federal government because the Eurofighter is being built in joint production. However, the traffic light parties had agreed in their coalition agreement not to issue “export permits for military equipment to states” “as long as they can be proven to be directly involved in the Yemen war.” Saudi Arabia was one of the main players in this war. The Greens in particular had pushed for this agreement in the coalition agreement.
“Saudi Arabia contributes to Israel’s security”
During her visit to Israel, Baerbock pointed out that Saudi Arabia and Israel had “not rejected their normalization course” after the bloody Hamas attack on October 7th. “The fact that Saudi Arabia is now intercepting missiles that the Houthis are firing at Israel underscores this, and for that we are grateful,” she added.
“The fact that the Saudi Air Force also uses Eurofighters is an open secret,” Baerbock continued. This shows “an effort for a better future in the region: Saudi Arabia is making a significant contribution to Israel’s security these days, and it is helping to contain the danger of a regional conflagration.” She added: “That’s precisely why we don’t see that we as the German federal government are opposing British considerations for further Eurofighters.”