Germany urges EU states to stop arms exports to Saudi Arabia – economy minister

Germany wants other EU member states to follow its example in stopping arms exports to Saudi Arabia as long as uncertainty remains over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Economy Minister Peter Altmaier has said. Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Sunday that Germany would stop arms exports to Saudi Arabia as long as the uncertainty around Khashoggi’s death persisted. Altmaier, a close ally of Merkel, said on Monday that Riyadh’s explanations on the case so far had not been satisfactory. “The government is in agreement that we will not approve further arms exports for the moment because we want to know what happened,” Altmaier told ZDF. So far this year, the German government has approved weapons exports worth more than $462 million to Saudi Arabia, making it the second-biggest recipient of German arms after Algeria, Reuters reports.