British ministers have rejected the issue of suspending UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia, stressing that their country makes its own decisions on arms sales, and not the decisions of other countries.
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Today, Monday, British Foreign Secretary James Cleverley said that he had reviewed the US decision to stop selling weapons to Saudi Arabia for use in Yemen, noting that British arms sales licenses were issued with great care to ensure that they do not cause any breach of humanitarian law, according to the Guardian newspaper.
He added, “The decisions that the United States make on arms sales issues are those of the United States. The United Kingdom takes its arms export responsibilities very seriously, and we continue to evaluate all arms export licenses in accordance with strict licensing criteria.”
Speaking in the House of Commons, Tobias Ellwood, chair of the Conservative Defense Committee, urged the UK to “align fully with its closest security ally (America) and end similar war-related arms exports.”
Ellwood said the suspension of US arms sales aims to create conditions for peace talks in Yemen.
On her part, Shadow Minister in the opposition Labor government, Lisa Nandy, told the MPs: “The British arms trade and technical support support the war in Yemen .. The United States’ decision on arms sales leaves the UK dangerously far from the footsteps of our allies and increases our isolation.”
The Minister highlighted the role of the United Kingdom in the negotiations and drafting of legislation led by the Security Council on the Yemen crisis, and said: “The United Kingdom cannot be a peacemaker and arms dealer in this conflict.”
Nandi added that the British Foreign Office promised that human rights are its main goal, yet the ministers failed this first test.
Saudi Arabia accounted for 40% of British arms exports between 2010 and 2019. The UK had previously suspended arms sales to Saudi Arabia in response to a court order, but resumed it last year.
And if the UK’s stance on arms sales to Saudi Arabia continues, it represents the first break with US President Joe Biden’s administration.
Earlier, the Biden administration released some details about the type of support that America will provide to the Saudi-led coalition forces in Yemen.
Washington has also canceled the designation of the Houthi group as a terrorist organization, a move that at least reassures aid agencies that they can work with the Houthis to facilitate the flow of humanitarian trade.
The United States began providing “logistical and intelligence support” to the Saudi-led Arab coalition in Yemen in March 2015, shortly after Saudi Arabia and the UAE launched a military offensive in Yemen to support the government of President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi.
Source: The Guardian
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