US Democrats Threaten Saudi Arabia with Arms Freeze over Oil Output

THE GUARDIAN: Congress members raise prospect of one-year sales ban unless kingdom reverses Opec+ decision to cut production

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman greets Joe Biden in Jeddah in July. The US president has reiterated his pledge to take action over Riyadh’s decision to cut output. Photograph: Bandar Al-Jaloud/Saudi Royal Palace/AFP/Getty Images
Democrats in the US Congress have issued a fresh ultimatum to Saudi Arabia, giving the kingdom weeks to reverse an Opec+ decision to roll back oil production or face a potential one-year freeze on all arms sales.

The threat came as Joe Biden reiterated his pledge to take action over Riyadh’s decision last week to cut oil output by 2m barrels a day, which Democrats have said would help “fuel Vladimir Putin’s war machine” and hurt American consumers at the petrol pump.

The White House national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, told reporters the US president was also looking at a possible halt in arms sales as part of a broader re-evaluation of the US relationship with Saudi Arabia, but that no move was imminent. » | Stephanie Kirchgaessner and Julian Borger in Washington | Wednesday, October 12, 2022

Saudi Arabia is choosing friends on its own terms and Biden is not one of them: Reactions in Washington to slashing oil supply have not concerned Mohammed bin Salman; nor have the optics of indirectly boosting Putin’s war »

UK's Saudi Weapons Sales Unlawful, Lords Committee Finds

THE GUARDIAN: Report finds UK arms ‘highly likely to be cause of significant civilian casualties in Yemen’

The UK is on “the wrong side of the law” by sanctioning arms exports to Saudi Arabia for the war in Yemen and should suspend some of the export licences, an all-party Lords committee has said.

The report by the international relations select committee says ministers are not making independent checks to see if arms supplied by the UK are being used in breach of the law, but is instead relying on inadequate investigations by the Saudis, its allies in the war.

It describes the humanitarian plight of Yemenis as “unconscionable”. » | Patrick Wintour, Diplomatic editor | Saturday, February 16, 2019

Saudi Arabia: Global Pressure Calling for End to Arms Sales | Al Jazeera English

Rights groups are ramping up pressure against Saudi Arabia’s leadership calling on the international community to close its doors on arms sales after the killing of Jamal Khashoggi and over the war in Yemen.

A bipartisan group of US lawmakers have introduced a bill to ban arms sales to Saudi Arabia. It would also cut military co-operation, unless US investigators can provide proof the Saudi government did not order the killing of Khashoggi.

Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel has joined other European countries in calling for a "credible" investigation and has halted a weapons deals with Saudi Arabia.

Al Jazeera’s Raheela Mahomed looks at how international pressure is also growing online.

Almost Half of Britain's Weapons Exports Go to Saudi Arabia - Report

Almost half of the UK's entire recent weapons exports have gone to Saudi Arabia. That's according to the latest report from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

British PM Defends Selling Arms to Saudi Arabia

UK Government Accused of Selling Weapons to Saudis, Admits Helping Choose Targets in Yemen

The British government has admitted that its military is helping choose targets for the Saudi-led coalition's air strikes in Yemen.

Revealed: How UK Targets Saudis for Top Contracts

Prince Khalid bin Faisal bin Abdulaziz welcomes David Cameron
as he arrives in Jeddah in 2012 to push for more arms sales.

THE GUARDIAN: Documents show that the controversial kingdom is seen as a ‘priority market’ for British companies

Government departments are intensifying efforts to win lucrative public contracts in Saudi Arabia, despite a growing human rights row that led the ministry of justice to pull out of a £6m prison contract in the kingdom last week.

Documents seen by the Observer show the government identifying Saudi Arabia as a “priority market” and encouraging UK businesses to bid for contracts in health, security, defence and justice.

“It’s becoming increasingly clear that ministers are bent on ever-closer ties with the world’s most notorious human rights abusers,” said Maya Foa, director of Reprieve’s death penalty team. “Ministers must urgently come clean about the true extent of our agreements with Saudi Arabia and other repressive regimes.”

The UK’s increasingly close relationship with Saudi Arabia – which observes sharia law, under which capital and corporal punishment are common – is under scrutiny because of the imminent beheading of two young Saudis. Ali al-Nimr and Dawoud al-Marhoon were both 17 when they were arrested at protests in 2012 and tortured into confessions, their lawyers say. France, Germany, the US and the UK have raised concerns about the sentences but this has not stopped Whitehall officials from quietly promoting UK interests in the kingdom – while refusing to make public the human rights concerns they have to consider before approving more controversial business deals there. Several of the most important Saudi contracts were concluded under the obscurely named Overseas Security and Justice Assistance (OSJA) policy, which is meant to ensure that the UK’s security and justice activities are “consistent with a foreign policy based on British values, including human rights”. Foreign Office lawyers have gone to court to prevent the policy being made public. Read on and comment » | Jamie Doward | Saturday, October 17, 2015

Obama the Super-salesman Pours Fuel on a Middle East In Flames

THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD: Washington: In the coming days, they'll be putting the finishing touches to the pavilions and adding up the orders at the massive Defence & Security Equipment International arms fair which opens in London's Docklands on September 15.

At the front of the queue, writing cheques worth billions of dollars, will be the Sunni Arab regimes of the Gulf monarchies, making the latest payments in an arms-buying splurge set to surge through the coming decade – in a region already coming apart at the seams.

Touring the Middle East to tamp down anxiety about Iranian expansionism after the signing of the long-awaited nuclear deal, US Secretary of State John Kerry said that Washington "had agreed to expedite certain arms sales that are needed and that have taken too long in the past". » | Paul McGeough | Chief foreign correspondent | Friday, September 11, 2015

Prince Charles Tired of Being Treated as Arms Dealer

UK Condemned over Arms Sales to Repressive States

THE OBSERVER: Former Tory defence secretary Sir John Stanley says government quietly relaxed controls on arms licences to ‘countries of concern’

The government has been accused of dishonesty over arms sales as new figures reveal that the value of British weapons sales to “countries of concern” has already hit £60m this year. Former Tory defence minister Sir John Stanley, who chairs the Commons committees on arms export controls, says ministers failed to come clean on a “significant change in policy” that makes it easier to export arms to countries with a poor human rights record.

He said in a recent parliamentary debate that the government has not acknowledged that such a change has taken place, and it “should consider most carefully whether they should now offer an apology to the committees”.

The government used to reject arms export licences where there was concern they might be used for “internal repression”, but now a licence will be refused only if there is a “clear risk” that military equipment might be used in violation of international law. » | Mark Townsend and Daniel Boffey | Saturday, November 08, 2014

UK Must Do More to Explain Stance on Saudi Arabia, Say MPs

David Cameroon with King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia last year

THE GUARDIAN: Campaigners claim whitewash after committee says there would be no advantage in stopping UK arms sales to kingdom

Britain is suffering from a "credibility problem" in claiming to be backing reform in Saudi Arabia, which is described by MPs as "one of the least democratic states in the world with a notoriously poor human rights record" in a report published on Friday.

MPs on the foreign affairs committee are also asking the government to "assess" the supply of weapons by Saudi Arabia to Syrian rebels seeking to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad. But they said there would be no advantage in stopping lucrative UK arms sales to the conservative kingdom – triggering immediate condemnation of a "whitewash" by campaigners.

After a year-long investigation into Britain's relations with Saudi Arabia and neighbouring Bahrain, the all-party body says it is concerned about "limited but worrying evidence of a poor public perception of the UK in Saudi Arabia."

The report will be closely scrutinized in both Gulf countries, but especially in oil-rich Saudi Arabia, whose ambassador to the UK warned of negative consequences for bilateral relations when the parliamentary enquiry was announced last year.

The inquiry was launched against the background of the Arab Spring uprisings, the rise of Islamist forces and nervousness in the Gulf monarchies that the unrest would affect them. It took evidence from academics, businessmen, diplomats and defence sales officials. Read on and comment » | Ian Black, Middle East editor | Friday, November 22, 2013

My comment:

Human rights are always going to take a back seat for the UK government, whatever the hue, as long as such big contracts for arms sales are on offer. It is simply pie-in-the-sky to think otherwise. Hypocrisy rules the day. – © Mark

This comment appears here too.

'Russian Arms Sales to Syria OK under International Law' - Putin's Spokesperson

What will Russia do in case chemical strike is confirmed to have been carried out by the Syrian government? Or, in another scenario, what will happen if the US follows on with their strike intentions even without solid proof of Assad's guilt, or without much international support or approval of such a strike? What will Russia's response be? We talk to Dmitry Peskov, press secretary for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Engulfed by Weapons: Germany Under Fire as Arm Exports to Gulf Nations Triple

Germany recently came under an avalanche of criticism over a multi-billion dollar arms deals it sealed with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf nations who also have a questionable human rights record. Activists also claim German-made small arms, ammunition and military vehicles were commonly used by Middle Eastern and North African regimes to suppress peaceful demonstrations. Adam Coogle from Human Rights Watch says that Germany should give up its business ambitions in the Gulf.

David Cameron Defends Arms Deals with Gulf States
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Selling arms to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates is "legitimate and right" as autocratic countries have a right to self defence, David Cameron has said.

The Prime Minister defended military deals with Gulf states, as he launched a major push to equip them with British-made Typhoon fighter jets on a three day visit to the region.
Mr Cameron's candid stance on arms sales - which is un[u]sual for Prime Ministers - was criticised by human rights campaigners. Amnesty International UK's head of policy and government affairs Allan Hogarth said: "Selling arms to countries like Saudi Arabia and UAE should only be considered if there are absolutely watertight guarantees over them not being used to commit human rights violations.

"Saudi Arabia has been the recipient of record-breaking arms deals involving the UK, yet these have been highly secretive and there's been little or no follow-up over how the weaponry was used."

Amnesty said that in 2009 the Saudi air force used "UK-supplied Tornado fighter-bombers in attacks in Yemen which killed hundreds -possibly thousands - of civilians".

But speaking in Dubai before later visits to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, Mr Cameron said: "We have one of the strictest regimes anywhere in the world for sales of defence equipment but we do believe that countries have a right to self-defence.

“We do believe countries have a right to defend themselves. And we do believe Britain has important defence industries that employ over 300,000 people and so that sort of business is completely legitimate and right." » | Monday, November 05, 2012

David Cameron in Dubai to Promote UK Arms Trade
The prime minister arrives in Dubai on Monday at the start of a three day trip aimed at persuading the United Arab Emirates to buy 60 Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets in a deal reported to be worth more than £3bn. On Tuesday David Cameron is expected to visit Saudi Arabia, Britain's biggest trading partner in the region

Related »

US Resumes Weapons Sale to Bahrain
The US will resume selling weapons to Bahrain despite concerns over its treatment of protesters. The announcement followed a meeting between Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, and Bahrain's crown prince. Imran Khan reports.

Prince Andrew Attacked for Opening Door to Arms Dealers
THE AUSTRALIAN: PRINCE Andrew, the Duke of York was criticised for "opening doors for arms dealers" yesterday, while senior business and political figures gave their backing to his role as a government trade envoy.

Prince Andrew arrived back from his visit to Indonesia, which is seeking the lifting of a British arms export ban so that it can buy military jets.

His trip took place six weeks after David Cameron was criticised for promoting the sale of British weapons in Egypt as the country went through a bloody revolution.

It was his first trip as trade envoy since the revelation of his links to an American sex offender and support for deals with countries with questionable human rights records.

During the three-day trip he met President Yudhoyono and Mari Pangestu, the Indonesian Trade Minister, both of whom he had also met in Switzerland in January.

The Times revealed last month that Indonesia has made an informal approach to acquire as many as 24 Eurofighter Typhoon jets in a deal worth up to pounds 5billion ($7.7 billion AUD). Separately, BAE Systems has offered to upgrade the country's Hawk aircraft.

Gerald Howarth, the Defence Minister, attended a defence summit in Jakarta last month where he said that he expected to discuss sales of the Typhoon.

Sales of military equipment to Indonesia were banned in 1999 after reports that the Hawks were used to attack civilians in East Timor and West Papau.

Kaye Stearman, a spokeswoman for Campaign Against Arms Trade, said that Indonesia bought half of its military equipment from Britain in the five years leading up to the export ban.

"It seems that Prince Andrew's role is to open doors to arms deals rather than to do the actual negotiation," Ms Stearman said. "People in some of these countries are still impressed by the British royalty, but it is highly damaging for the Royal Family to be associated with such deals." » | David Brown | The Times | Monday, April 11, 2011

Clegg Defends Holiday During Libya Crisis
The Deputy Prime Minister explains his "throwaway" remark that he had "forgotten" he was in charge of the country

Turkey Told to Change Stance on Israel for US Arms Deals
THE TELEGRAPH: President Barack Obama has warned the Turkish prime minister that Ankara's position on Israel and Iran could lessen its chances of obtaining US weapons.

Erdogan: The United States voiced disappointment after Turkey voted against fresh UN sanctions on Iran, which the United Nations Security Council adopted in June. Photo: The Telegraph
The Turkish leader, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, wants to buy American drone aircraft to attack separatist Kurdish rebels after the US military withdraws from Iraq at the end of 2011.

The rebel group, the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), has bases in the mountains in the north of Iraq, near the Turkish border.

"The president has said to Erdogan that some of the actions that Turkey has taken have caused questions to be raised on the Hill (Congress)," a senior administration official told the Financial Times newspaper.

These questions centred on "whether we can have confidence in Turkey as an ally," said the official. >>> The Telegraph’s Foreign Staff | Monday, August 16, 2010

Russia Sees No Problem in Arming Iran
CNSNEWS.com: The Russian government sees no problem selling weapons, including advanced anti-aircraft systems, to Iran, saying that arms sales are fine so long as there is no U.N. weapons embargo on the Islamic Republic. >>> Matt Cover, Staff Writer | Friday, February 05, 2010