Biden refuses weapons sale to UAE and Saudi Arabia

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New York, 28th January: Newly-elected US President Joe Biden freezes the sale of weapons to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates for a review.

Baaghi TV: The administration of President Biden on Wednesday temporarily froze some of arms deal to the UAE and Saudi Arabia for a review.

The officials said that the administration has already pointed out its plans to end support for the Saudi-led, UAE-backed offensive in Yemen.

A State Department spokesperson said the administration is temporarily discontinuing the implementation of a number of defence sales to review by a week old leadership.

The spokesperson said, “This is a routine administrative action typical to most any transition, and demonstrates the administration’s commitment to transparency and good governance.”

The move is also aimed to ‘ensure that the US arms sales meet our strategic objectives of building stronger, harmonious and more capable security partners.

As per reports from the New York Times, the most notable sale is a $23 billion package of top-of-the-line F-35 jets to the United Arab Emirates.

The administration of the former President Donald Trump agreed to the sale, the first undercover planes to an Arab nation after the UAE agreed to recognize Israel.

A possible halt to the sale could raise questions about whether the United Arab Emirates will continue to normalize its ties with Israel, which Trump saw as a vital foreign policy achievement.

However, lawmakers of Biden’s Democratic Party had expressed suspicions over the deal, saying it might set off an arms race, but failed in the Senate to block the sale while Trump was in office.

The package to the UAE also included unarmed drones, while the United States has been preparing major sales of weapons to Saudi Arabia.

Trump had clearly backed arms sales on commercial grounds, voicing his opinion that the Saudis were creating jobs in the US by buying from US manufacturers.

Anthony Blinken, Secretary of State said during his validation hearing that the Saudi aggressiveness against Yemen’s Huthi rebels, who are backed by Iran, has contributed to the appalling humanitarian situation in Yemen.

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