UAE suspends talks on $23bn weapons deal with US

Washington: The United Arab Emirates on Tuesday suspended talks on a $23 billion deal to purchase American-made F-35 planes, armed drones and other equipment, in a rare dispute between Washington and a key U.S. ally in the Persian Gulf.

The Emirati Embassy in Washington said it would “suspend discussions” with the U.S., though meetings at the Pentagon this week between the two sides on other matters will be held as planned. “The U.S. remains the UAE’s preferred provider for advanced defence requirements and discussions for the F-35 may be re-opened in the future,” the embassy said in a statement.

The proposed sale of 50 F-35s to the UAE came at the end of former President Donald Trump’s administration, emerging from a deal that saw the Emiratis formally recognize Israel. President Joe Biden’s administration put the deal on hold after he took office, in part due to criticism of the UAE and Saudi Arabia over their years long war in Yemen, which has sparked one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises and continues today.

Also included in the deal are 18 advanced drone systems and a package of air-to-air and air-to-ground munitions.

Emirati officials blame an American insistence on restrictions on how and where the F-35s could be used and say they are a violation of the UAE’s sovereignty.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters that U.S. requirements on the use of American-made military equipment “are universal, non-negotiable, and not specific to the UAE.”

“The U.S. partnership with the UAE is more strategic and more complex than any one weapon sale,” Kirby said. –(AP)