United Arab Emirates suspended talks on $23B Weapons Deal with United States

On Tuesday, the United Arab Emirates 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 US ally in the Persian Gulf. The Emirati embassy in Washington said it would suspend discussions with the US. However, meetings at the Pentagon this week between the two sides on other matters will move forward as planned. The embassy issued a statement and said, “The US remains the UAE s preferred provider for advanced defense requirements and discussions for the F-35 may be re-opened in the future”. 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.

The administration of President Joe Biden 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. Point to be noted that 18 advanced drone systems and a package of air-to-air and air-to-ground munitions were included in the deal. Emirati officials alleged 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. The US State Department issued a statement and said, “The administration remains committed to the proposed sales even as we continue consultations to ensure that we have a clear and mutual understanding of Emirati obligations and actions before, during, and after delivery”.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby informed reporters and said, “US requirements on the use of American-made military equipment are universal, non-negotiable, and not specific to the UAE. The US partnership with the UAE is more strategic and more complex than anyone weapon sale”. A top Emirati diplomat acknowledged the UAE stopped construction on a Chinese facility at an Abu Dhabi port last week that America considered a military base. The Journal first revealed the presence of the alleged facility. The diplomat, Anwar Gargash informed during a meeting of the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington and said, “We took these American concerns into consideration and we stopped the work on the facilities. But our position remains the same, that these facilities were not really military facilities”. He also described the discussions between the UAE and the US as quite frank.