Germany's CDU backs sale of advanced jets to Saudi Arabia

Germany should lift its block on the export of Eurofighter Typhoon combat jets to Saudi Arabia, a spokesman for the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the largest opposition party, said on Wednesday, reported dpa.

A change of course was needed "to prevent Saudi Arabia drifting out of the Western camp and linking up with China, for example," CDU foreign policy spokesman Roderich Kiesewetter told dpa.

Record German armaments exports this year to the value of €11.7 billion should be regarded as an incentive for an armaments policy more strongly tailored to German priorities, Kiesewetter said.

Kiesewetter called for an increase in deliveries to countries outside the European Union and NATO where this was in Germany's defence policy interests. He referred in particular to Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

Germany had a strategic interest in cooperating with Saudi Arabia, with a view to stabilizing ties between Saudi Arabia and Israel, among other factors, he said.

He referred to signs of rapprochement before the current Gaza War, and also to Saudi Arabia's fossil fuel resources, on which the world would long be dependent.

"And for that reason, we should also supply Eurofighters to Saudi Arabia, just as we should support the British wish to deliver Eurofighters to Ukraine," he said. "The chancellery has blocked this to date for reasons unintelligible to me."

Arms exports to Saudi Arabia have long been controversial in Germany on human rights grounds, particularly following the murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi, and because of its intervention in regional conflicts, such as the civil war in Yemen.

The German government decided in July to block the export of Eurofighters to Saudi Arabia up to the end of the current legislative period in late 2025.

The Eurofighter Typhoon is a joint European project with German involvement. Germany thus has the right of veto on exports. It is produced in Britain, which backs delivery to Saudi Arabia. The Gulf state is reported to be in the market for 48 of the multi-role fighters.