The United Arab Emirates wants to modernise its military and a request for U.S. F-35 warplanes has been on the table since before a normalisation deal with Israel, the minister of state for foreign affairs, Anwar Gargash, said on Tuesday.
FILE PHOTO: Minister of State for Foreign Affairs for the United Arab Emirates, Anwar Gargash, speaks at an event at Chatham House in London, Britain July 17, 2017. REUTERS/Neil Hall
“The UAE seeks like any country that takes its military seriously, to modernize its military, always, so our request for the F35 and other systems pre-dates this agreement,” he said.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said his government would oppose any U.S. F-35 warplane sales to the UAE, despite forging relations with the Gulf power. U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday told Fox News he would have no problem selling the planes to the UAE.
Gargash said the country’s decision to normalise ties broke a “psychological barrier” and is the way forward for the region, giving it more leverage.
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