Germany's SPD ready to allow some arms exports to Saudi Arabia - reports

The Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), the junior partner in the German ruling coalition, is prepared to soften its position and allow some arms exports to Saudi Arabia, the RND group of newspapers reported on Wednesday citing sources.

The media group reported that the German Security Council would hold a meeting later on Wednesday to discuss joint European arms projects that had already been approved earlier but were blocked due to Germany's ban on arms sales to Riyadh.

According to the RND, the SDP party is prepared to back the projects which involved no more than 20 percent of the components coming from Germany.

Spiegel magazine has reported earlier that UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt had sent a letter to his German counterpart Heiko Maas asking to lift the temporary moratorium on arms sales to Saudi Arabia.

In late February, the deputy chairman of the SPD faction in the Bundestag said the SPD backed the extension of ban on arms sales to Saudi Arabia. A temporary ban was announced by Berlin in October amid a controversy surrounding the death of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was killed in a Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Earlier this month, Germany extended the arms ban until the end of March.

(SPUTNIK)