The Financial Times reported on Sunday that the United States is expected to lift the ban on the sale of offensive weapons to Saudi Arabia, perhaps in the coming weeks.
The newspaper quoted an informed source as saying that Washington has already indicated to Riyadh that it is ready to lift the embargo.
Shortly after taking office in 2021, US President Joe Biden adopted a more assertive stance regarding the Saudi campaign against the Iran-allied Houthis in Yemen, which inflicted heavy casualties on civilians, and regarding Riyadh’s human rights record, especially the killing of the political dissident and newspaper journalist. Washington Post Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.
The restrictions angered this kingdom, which is the largest customer among American arms buyers, as it froze a type of arms sales that previous administrations in Washington had provided for decades.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said on Wednesday that the United States and Saudi Arabia are very close to concluding a set of agreements in the fields of nuclear energy and security and defense cooperation, as part of a broader normalization agreement between Riyadh and Israel.
But the Financial Times newspaper said that lifting the ban on offensive weapons sales is not directly related to those talks, and the White House and the Saudi Government Communications Center have not yet responded to a request from Reuters for comment.
Distressing!
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