Germany won't sell weapons to Saudi Arabia anymore

Berlin announced Monday that Germany will not make any additional arms sales agreements with Saudi Arabia in response to the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

"The government is in agreement that we will not approve further arms exports for the moment because we want to know what happened," said Economy Minister Peter Altmaier. Germany may also renege on past weapons deals still in progress, he said, indicating a decision would be announced "very soon." Berlin previously approved arms sales valued around $462 million to Saudi Arabia in 2018.

Altmaier urged the rest of the European Union to follow suit. "For me it would be important that we come to a joint European stance," he said, "because only if all European countries are in agreement, it will make an impression on the government in Riyadh. It will not have any positive consequences if we halt arms exports but other countries at the same time fill the gap."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

President Trump has insisted the United States will not stop selling weapons to Saudi Arabia, relying on an argument about U.S. jobs that has been found seriously wanting.