UAE Reportedly Calls Off Trilateral Meeting With US, Israel Over F-35 Sale

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The United Arab Emirates has reportedly cancelled the planned trilateral meeting with the United States and Israel in protest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's opposition to the US sale of F-35 fighter jets to Abu Dhabi, the Axios news portal reported, citing informed sources.
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According to the US news website, Abu Dhabi cancelled the meeting with the US and Israel on Friday, after Netanyahu publicly criticized last Tuesday the arms deal between the US and the UAE.

Axios suggested that by calling off the meeting, the UAE wanted to show that Netanyahu had breached the mutual understanding days after the historic announcement of the peace deal with Israel.

The UAE officials have not yet commented on the reported news.

US President Donald Trump said last Wednesday that the UAE would like to buy F-35 and the US was reviewing the possibility of selling the aircraft.

Netanyahu labelled reports that the United States would be selling F-35 to the UAE "fake news," noting that the US-brokered agreement to establish normal ties between Israel and the Gulf country did not include any arms sales between Abu Dhabi and Washington.

F-35 Bailout Behind ‘Peace’
Israel, which routinely presses the US for maintaining its qualitative military edge in the region, is so far the only operator of F-35 in the Middle East.

Israel and the UAE reached a landmark agreement on August 13, brokered by the United States, to normalize ties, which, among other things, entails Israel freezing its annexation plans in the West Bank. The two countries are planning to sign a variety of agreements for cooperation in investments, tourism, security and other areas.

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