Germany to unblock Eurofighter sales to Saudi Arabia, foreign minister says

After years of blocking sales of Eurofighter jets to Saudi Arabia, Germany’s Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Sunday her country is ready to approve the sales.

Baerbock is on a trip to Israel when she announced the decision to approve the sale of 48 Eurofighter jets signed by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in London in 2018 but long blocked by Berlin.

Baerbock noted that Saudi Arabia and Israel had “not renounced their policy of normalisation” since Israel had started bombing Gaza on 7 October. 

“The fact that Saudi Arabia is now intercepting missiles fired by the Houthis at Israel underlines this, and we are grateful for that,” she added.

“The fact that the Saudi air force also uses Eurofighters in this context is an open secret,” the minister continued.

“Saudi Arabia is a key contributor to Israel’s security, even these days, and is helping to stem the risk of a regional conflagration,” she said.