Major coalition dispute in the case : Federal government extended the arms embargo for Saudi Arabia

The Federal government has put on their week-long dispute to the arms export ban to Saudi Arabia with a compromise. Bilateral arms deliveries will not be allowed for a further six months. For this period, in principle, no new applications would be approved, said government spokesman Steffen Seibert on Thursday evening after a meeting of the key Ministers with German Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) in Berlin.

At the same time, the Federal government agreed on terms for the renewal of permits for community projects, with reference to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) by the end of the year. It is a question of community programs, where parts for armor projects with European partners such as France and the United Kingdom will be delivered.

participants spoke of a balanced result that will allow further cooperation with France and the UK in the armor projects circles. At the same time, SPD Leader Andrea Nahles with the extension of the Export ban can be recorded to Riyadh for bilateral armaments projects a partial success - she had insisted on a corresponding extension. The Union side had, however, insisted that the European cooperation on armaments projects could just take France and the UK, no harm. Chancellor Merkel had vehemently warned of a loss of Credibility of the German policy on Europe.

The Federal government had stopped in November after the killing of the Saudi government critic Jamal Khashoggi all arms exports to Saudi Arabia - already approved. In the case of the Alliance partners, France and the UK caused a massive resentment because of European community projects are concerned. Several defense companies, announced an extension of the Export ban, legal steps to reserve.

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The stop had already been extended twice, most recently until the end of the month. The SPD had called for a further extension to a year and a half. The Union was strongly opposed, mainly because of the foreign policy implications. On Wednesday, a unification attempt failed in a secret meeting Federal security Council.

war in the Yemen is a point of Conflict

Seibert, not the Federal government, in consultations with the European partners, "the jointly produced military goods in the Yemen war, and that during this nine-month extension of the final assembled armor, goods from these community programmes in Saudi Arabia and the UAE will be delivered". The companies involved will made it a condition that they relate to the contract partners to the fact that in this period, not the assembled military equipment to Saudi Arabia and the UAE will be delivered. In addition, agreement has been reached regardless of the fact that Germany is allowed to deliver in a certain number of cases, products of France, which are installed in military equipment.

At the same time, the Federal government wants to find according to Seibert for the Export ban affected Peene shipyard in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, a solution to mitigate the damage. This should allow for either the construction of the boats, without it you deliver currently. Or there should be the possibility to build the boats for use in Germany. Saudi Arabia had ordered at the shipyard in Wolgast 35 patrol boats, of which only 15 are delivered. A number of boats is already finished or almost finished.

the starting point for the dispute to the arms export policy is originally from the Yemen war. Saudi Arabia had formed in 2015, an Alliance of mostly Arab countries to support the Yemeni government in its fight against the Iranian-sponsored Shiite Houthi rebels. The war has triggered in the desperately poor country on the Arabian Peninsula is currently the largest humanitarian crisis in the world.

The SPD urge against this Background, in the coalition negotiations on an export stop to the war participating countries. The Union agreed only in a much weaker formulation. Arms deliveries to "directly" participating countries were prohibited from already-authorized transactions.

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More weapons for Yemen-war arms exports to the Emirates

Claudia salts

As the most involved apply to Saudi Arabia and the UAE, although there is no official data about the extent of their military actions. Saudi Arabia after Arab media reports, about 100 fighter jets for bombing in Yemen. The UAE has stationed mainly in the South of the country to the port city of Aden soldiers. The greens and the Left calling for a complete ban on Exports for the countries of the Yemen Alliance. (dpa)