Germany on Wednesday, March 6 extended a temporary, disputed ban on arms sale to Saudi Arabia until the end of month.
In October 2018, Berlin froze sales of military hardware to countries involved in the Yemen conflict following the murder of Saudi journalist, Jamal Khashoggi.
Since then, Russia has faced protests by European Union partners because the ban, originally imposed until March 9, has impacted joint defense projects such as the Eurofighter and Tornado jets.
According to German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas on Wednesday, the export ban had been extended by three weeks until the end of March 2019.
“We decided this with a view to developments in Yemen,” the Minister said after a meeting of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s cabinet. “We believe that the Yemen war must end as soon as possible.”
Since March 2015, Yemen war has left about 10,000 people killed, though rights groups say the death toll is much higher.
Germany’s arms sales to Saudi Arabia topped $105 million (€92.9 million) in 2018.
