Italy to halt arms sales to Saudis amid Yemen war

Italy’s Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte says his government wants to end arms sales to Saudi Arabia due to war and atrocities in neighboring Yemen.

“We are not in favor of the sale of these weapons and so now it is only a question of formalizing this position and acting accordingly,” Conte said at the prime minister’s traditional end-of-the-year press conference on Friday while responding to Italy’s continuing arms exports to the Persian Gulf kingdom.

The move comes amid controversy over Saudi Arabia’s war on Yemen and massive aerial bombardment of Yemen’s residential areas and infrastructure there as well as the killing of dissident journalist Jamal Kashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Turkey’s Istanbul.

If Conte’s decision goes ahead, Italy would join a growing list of countries halting arms sales to the Saudis.

Denmark, Finland, Germany and Norway have already decided to stop selling arms to Saudi Arabia, while Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has also expressed interest in canceling his country’s $13 billion arms deal with Riyadh.

Trudeau announced in October that Ottawa stands ready to halt its weapons deal with the Saudis, claiming in a parliamentary address that "we strongly demand and expect that Canadian exports are used in a way that fully respects human rights."

The Canadian branch of the US-based General Dynamic arms manufacturer has been contracted to deliver 742 armored vehicles to the Saudi kingdom to support its aggression against Yemen.

Despite Trudeau’s pledge however, reports last week revealed that a consignment of the military vehicles had already left Canada for Saudi Arabia.

SS