German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said Wednesday that Germany's resumption of weaponry supplies to Saudi Arabia depended on the resolution of the Yemeni conflict.
"The position of the federal government is that we currently do not supply weapons to Saudi Arabia, future decisions will depend on the development of the conflict in Yemen, on the implementation of agreements reached during the peace talks in Stockholm, on the existence of a consistent process that will finally lead to peace in Yemen," Maas said, adding that the original decision to stop arms supplies from Germany had been linked to "the murder of journalist Khashoggi and the war in Yemen".
In mid-October, German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced that Germany would stop arms exports to Riyadh amid the uncertainty surrounding Khashoggi's death. Germany's Economic Affairs Minister Peter Altmaier, in his turn, urged EU member states to follow in Berlin's footsteps and stop arms exports to Riyadh.
After Berlin's decision, one of Germany's major arms manufacturers Rheinmetall threatened the government with a multi-million lawsuit to compensate for their losses due to the arms embargo.
