EU May Make Joint Decision to Halt Arms Sales to Saudi Arabia: Merkel

German Chancellor Angela Merkel stated that the European Union might make a collective decision to halt all arms sales to Saudi Arabia over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Merkel was speaking during a quartet summit held on Saturday between Presidents of Russia, France, Germany, and Turkey in Istanbul, during which the four leaders discussed issues relating to peaceful settlement in Syria as well as the case of murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

She agreed with her French counterpart Emmanuel Macron that the decision should be made after more is known about those responsible for his death.

 “We agreed that when we have more clarity, and we are counting on that, when we know who was behind this then we will try to find a unified European solution or reaction from all member states of the European Union to show that we negotiate on the basis of common values,” Merkel said.

Macron at first criticized Merkel’s approach to punishing Riyadh over Khashoggi’s death, calling it “pure demagoguery,” as the murder was not directly connected to arms supplies from Europe. Both later agreed that any sanctions over Khashoggi’s murder should first be coordinated at the “European level” prior to being announced.

Turkish President on Khashoggi Case

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said earlier during the Istanbul Summit on Syria that Turkey has shared the results of the investigation into the murder of the Saudi journalist with other leaders in attendance.

Erdogan called on Saudi Arabia to reveal the individuals that issued the order to send the 18 people responsible for murdering the journalist. Erdogan also said that Turkey expects Saudi Arabia to provide information on local accomplices that the perpetrators gave Khashoggi’s body to.

The Turkish president added that Ankara had notified Riyadh that if it doesn’t take the case to court, then Turkey will, as the crime was committed in Istanbul.

Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi disappeared after entering the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on October 2. After initially denying involvement, Saudi Arabia later claimed that the journalist had been killed in a fight that erupted inside the consulate. Riyadh denied that it had ordered the murder and launched an investigation into the case, with 18 people already having been arrested in connection with the case.

Many Western countries have called on Saudi Arabia to provide greater transparency into its own, saying that many areas of the case remain unclear.

H.M