Spain appears to have given up against financial pressure to deliver 400 laser-guided bombs to Saudi Arabia, reversing a recent decision to put the deal on hold.
The Socialist administration, which came to power in June, decided last week to halt the shipment, which was part of a €141.7 million arms deal signed in 2015 by the previous conservative government. Current government stated their fears that the weapons could be used against civilians in Yemen.
The Spanish foreign minister Josep Borrell, confirmed however that the government had changed its mind and that the weapons would now be delivered.
“We have decided to deliver the bombs to Saudi Arabia because we have not detected irregularities in the contract which would have impeded this,” Mr Borrell told Spanish radio. “They are not the kind of bombs that can produce casualties against the civilian population.”
Riyadh has recently threated Madrid to cancel a €2 billion deal to buy five Spanish naval corvettes as well as non-military contracts to build a high-speed train in the Gulf state.
