German arms exports almost doubled in 2015: Report
Germany almost doubled its arms exports in 2015 to the highest level in nearly 20 years, in contradiction with an earlier pledge to restrict the amount of weapons sales, a report says.
On Sunday, the Welt am Sonntag newspaper cited a report on the matter by the German Ministry of Economy that is due to be presented to the cabinet later this week.
The paper said the value of individual approvals granted for exporting firearms and weaponry stood at 7.86 billion euros (USD 8.75 billion) last year in comparison with 3.97 billion euros worth of German arms exports in 2014.
It said the ministry had attributed the sharp overall rise in the arms exports to certain factors such as the approval of selling four aerial refueling aircraft to Britain worth 1.1 billion euros.
The paper also stated that Qatar, under a deal worth 1.6 billion euros signed in 2013, received combat tanks and heavy artillery, as well as ammunition and accompanying vehicles.
German Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel had already confirmed the sale report in February, saying preliminary figures showed that Germany had approved about 7.5 billion euros worth of arms shipments in 2015.
The German newspaper also reported an arms sale deal with Saudi Arabia, which was to a large extent funneled through joint delivery programs organized with other European countries, especially France.
Back in January, Gabriel had said that Berlin would closely monitor all pending arms deals between German firms and Saudi Arabia due to concerns of human rights abuses in the kingdom. However, he said previously signed deals with the Saudis would not be cancelled.
An unnamed spokesman for Gabriel’s office said the department has blocked export approval to the Riyadh regime for “offensive weapons” as they could be used for “oppressive measures.”
The comments came a few day after Saudi Arabia executed 47 people, among them prominent Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, causing international outrage and a serious escalation of tensions in the region.
Since March 2015, Riyadh has also been involved in a deadly military campaign which has so far killed over 8,000 people in neighboring Yemen.
Germany is one of the world's main arms exporters to the European Union states and NATO countries and has been cutting its sales of light weapons outside those countries.
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