NEWSRAEL: Germany decided, like Biden to shoot itself in the foot in order to look good. Of course, the real losers are the American and German people, but that (in their eyes) is a "small" price to pay for "looking good". Here is the story:
Germany has agreed to soften its position regarding arms exports to Saudi Arabia while continuing to block shipments of fighter jets jointly produced by it and Britain, the Eurofighter.
The move may anger Britain, which had hoped to supply 48 of the planes to Saudi Arabia, after a contract won by BAE Systems five years ago resulted in the supply of 72 Eurofighter planes to the Saudi Air Force.
German Chancellor Olaf Schulz confirmed Berlin's position on arms sales to Riyadh during a NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, on Wednesday. "There will be no decision on sending Eurofighters to Saudi Arabia anytime soon," he told reporters.
Germany blocked arms exports to Saudi Arabia after the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey in 2018, taking a much tougher approach than its key allies such as the United States, France and Britain.
Saudi Arabia's participation in the Yemen war was also cited as a reason behind this rejection. Pressure grew from the pro-business Free Democratic Party to reconsider the situation after Saudi Arabia reached a ceasefire with the Iran-backed Houthi militia in Yemen last year.