US Senate backs missile sale to Saudi Arabia
Title : US Senate backs missile sale to Saudi Arabia
Link : US Senate backs missile sale to Saudi Arabia
The vote was 62 to 25 against the resolution, which was introduced by Republicans Rand Paul and Mike Lee, as well as Bernie Sanders, who caucuses with Democrats.
Before the vote, the White House said it strongly opposes the resolution.
Passage of the Senate resolution "would undermine the president's commitment to aid in our partner's defenses at a time of increased missile and drone attacks against civilians in Saudi Arabia," the White House Office of Management of Budget said in a statement. The US State Department last month approved the sale of the 280 air-to-air missiles valued at up to $650 million, its first major arms sale to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia under President Joe Biden.
The package would include 280 AIM-120C-7/C-8 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM), 596 LAU-128 Missile Rail Launchers (MRL) along with containers and support equipment, spare parts, U.S. Government and contractor engineering and technical support.
Biden has worked to recalibrate US relations with Saudi Arabia after the friendly ties his predecessor, Donald Trump, had with Saudi officials.
While Saudi Arabia is an important partner in the Middle East, US lawmakers have criticized Riyadh for its involvement in the war in Yemen and have refused to approve many military sales for the kingdom without assurances US equipment would not be used to kill civilians.
In addition, the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi has also increased tensions between Washington and Riyadh.
Khashoggi was killed and dismembered at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October 2018. Saudi Arabia admitted that Khashoggi was killed after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, after initially denying Turkish claims that he was murdered.
An intelligence report released in February by the Biden administration said that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman approved Khashoggi’s murder.
US Senate backs missile sale to Saudi Arabia
US Senate backs missile sale to Saudi Arabia
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