Merkel Sees No Reason to End Saudi Arabia Weapons Embargo

(Bloomberg) -- Chancellor Angela Merkel said she sees no reason for Germany to end its embargo on arms shipments to Saudi Arabia, days after the attacks on the kingdom’s oil facilities.

“At the moment I don’t see any conditions for the government to change its position,” Merkel said at a news conference after meeting Jordan’s King Abdullah II in Berlin. Germany’s stance was “determined by the Yemen conflict” and a diplomatic resolution to hostilities there is urgently needed, she added.

Germany’s ban on Saudi arms sales, including on projects involving companies like Airbus SE, has led to the disruption of defense exports across Europe, triggering complaints from the U.K. and France.

The existing halt on weapons deliveries runs until the end of this month and would need to be renewed. Exceptions have been made for some joint export projects with other nations.

Merkel condemned the weekend attacks in Saudi Arabia, which eliminated about 5% of global oil supply and raised the risk of more conflict in the region, and said Germany is waiting for more information about who was responsible.

“I don’t have a conclusive perspective, but of course it’s broadly in the context of the very tense situation in the region,” she said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Patrick Donahue in Brussels at pdonahue1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Chad Thomas at cthomas16@bloomberg.net, Iain Rogers, Raymond Colitt

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