Germany is now willing to allow the sale of more Eurofighter jets to Saudi Arabia, German Foreign Minister, Annalena Burbock, said on Sunday, announcing the lifting of a German veto blocking the implementation of a years-old contract.

Germany froze arms sales to Saudi Arabia after the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in late 2018, which was directly attributed to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman by US intelligence services, preventing a major order for 48 Eurofighter Typhoons that had been signed during the prince’s visit to London years ago.

The Eurofighter is the result of a consortium of Britain, Germany, Italy, and Spain, in which BAE Systems, Airbus, and Leonardo participate.

During her visit to Israel, Mrs. Burbok noted that Saudi Arabia and Israel did not abandon the policy of normalizing their relations after the outbreak of war on October 7. Saudi Arabia is now intercepting missiles fired by the Houthis at Israel, she continued. In fact, according to her, Saudi Arabia contributes decisively to Israel’s security, even these days, and helps prevent the risk of regional conflagration.

Germany’s embargo has been irritating its partners for years, especially Britain and France.

This position, adopted during the days of conservative Angela Merkel as chancellor, was entailed in the program agreement of Chancellor Olaf Solz’s SPD/Greens/FDP coalition; the environmentalists – Mrs Burbock’s party – were very strict about this ban, also because of Saudi Arabia’s role in the war in Yemen.

But the world, especially here in the Middle East, has become a completely different place after October 7, Mrs. Burbok reasoned yesterday.

Tones have been raised again recently over Berlin’s behavior, with Airbus chairman Guillaume Faury saying a sales freeze is impacting Germany’s credibility with its partners.

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