Germany is now willing to allow the sale of more Eurofighter aircraft to Saudi Arabia, German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock said yesterday, announcing the lifting of a German veto that has blocked the execution of a contract signed years ago.
"We do not see us, as the German federal government, opposing British aspirations for more Eurofighters," Ms. Berbock told reporters during her visit to Israel, noting what she called Riyadh's constructive role in the security crisis in the Middle East following the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas' attack on Israel on Oct. 7, the trigger for the war in the Gaza Strip.
Germany froze arms sales to Saudi Arabia after the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in late 2018 was directly attributed to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman by US intelligence agencies, preventing a major order for 48 Eurofighter Typhoons, signed during the prince's visit to London years ago, from going ahead.
The Eurofighter is the fruit of a joint venture between Britain, Germany, Italy and Spain, involving BAE Systems, Airbus and Leonardo.
During her visit to Israel, Ms. Berbok noted that Saudi Arabia and Israel have not abandoned "the policy of normalization" of their relations since the outbreak of war on October 7. "The fact that Saudi Arabia is now intercepting Houthi-launched missiles against Israel underscores this and we are grateful," he continued. "The fact that the Saudi air force is using Eurofighters in this context is not exactly a secret," the foreign minister added.
Saudi Arabia "is making a decisive contribution to Israel's security, even these days, and is helping to prevent the risk of regional flare-ups", he said.
Germany's embargo has been causing irritation for years among its partners, especially Britain and France.
The position, adopted during the days of conservative Angela Merkel in the chancellorship, was included in the programmatic agreement of Chancellor Olaf Scholz's SPD/Green/FDP coalition; the environmentalists - Ms. Burbock's party - were very strict about the ban, also because of Saudi Arabia's role in the war in Yemen.
But "the world, particularly here in the Middle East, has become a completely different place since 7 October", Ms Burbock justified yesterday.
Tensions have risen again recently over Berlin's behaviour, with Airbus chairman Guillaume Faure, the chairman of Airbus, judging that a sales freeze was hurting Germany's "credibility" with its partners.
