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The government of US President Joe Biden has told Congress that they are continuing with more than $ 23 billion in arms sales to the United Arab Emirates, including advanced F-35 aircraft, armed drones and other equipment, Congress’s assistants said Tuesday.
A State Department spokesman said the government would continue with the proposed sale to the UAE, “even if we continue to review details and consult with Emirates officials” regarding the use of the weapons.
The Democratic president’s government has suspended transactions agreed to by former Republican President Donald Trump. The sale to the Gulf nation was finalized just before Trump left office.
The Trump administration told Congress in November it had approved the sale to the UAE as a by-product of the Abraham Accords, a deal mediated by the United States in September in which the UAE agreed to end relations with To normalize Israel.
In the last months of the Trump administration, Israel has agreed with the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco as part of the agreements.
The $ 23.37 billion package includes products from General Atomics, Lockheed Martin and Raytheon Technologies, including 50 F-35 Lighting II aircraft, up to 18 MQ-9B unmanned aerial systems and a package of air-to-air and air-to-air to-ground ammunition.
Some U.S. lawmakers have criticized UAE for its involvement in the war in Yemen, a conflict that has fueled one of the worst humanitarian disasters in the world, and are concerned that the transfer of weapons could violate U.S. guarantees that Israel has a military advantage in the region will retain.
A legislative effort to stop the sale failed in December as Trump’s fellow Republicans in Congress backed his plans.
The Trump administration completed the huge sale to the UAE on January 20, about an hour before Biden was sworn in as president.
The Biden administration announced the review in late January and the UAE said it expected the review and welcomed the joint efforts to ease tensions and for renewed regional dialogue.
The State Department spokesman said Tuesday the estimated delivery dates on UAE sales, if exported, would be after 2025 or later.
The government expected a strong and sustained dialogue with the UAE to ensure a stronger security partnership, the spokesperson said in an email statement.
“We will also continue to work with the UAE and all recipients of U.S. defence articles and services to ensure that U.S. defence equipment is adequately secured and used in a manner that respects human rights and fully complies with the laws of armed conflict,” he said. the statement said.
The Biden administration is also reviewing its military sales policy to Saudi Arabia, including a number of Trump-era arms deals, in light of Saudi involvement in Yemen and other human rights interests.
The results of the review were not disclosed. In February, U.S. officials told Reuters news agency that the government was considering cancelling past human rights deals and restricting future sales to “defensive” weapons.