UK, Saudi Arabia in secret $80bln arms deal
9/27/2005 8:00:00 AM GMT
Britain held secret talks with Saudi Arabia over a major arms deal worth up to £40 billion ($80 billion), a British newspaper reported on Tuesday, citing unidentified defense sources.
The Guardian newspaper said British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Defense Minister John Reid both visited the Saudi kingdom to urge Crown Prince Sultan to buy a European fighter jet called the Typhoon.
According to the report, Blair visited the Saudi capital, Riyadh, for talks on the arms sale on the way to Singapore, where the UK was bidding for the 2010 Olympics, and Reid followed three weeks later for a two-day visit.
Neither Blair's office nor the Defense Ministry could immediately comment on the report.
The Typhoon jets are manufactured by British defense and aerospace giant BAE Systems, Airbus parent EADS and Alenia Aeronautica, part of Italy’s Finmeccanica.
Spain, through EADS’s Spanish operations, is also among the Eurofighter program’s four founding states.
The makers of the jet say it is the world's most advanced multi-role combat plane. It can attack targets on the ground and in the air and has a top speed of 1,321 miles per hour, according to Reuters.
Saudi demands
The Guardian said the British-Saudi talks had been stalled because of three Saudi demands.
"Negotiations are stalling because the Saudis are demanding three favors," the newspaper quoted some unidentified defense, diplomatic and legal sources as saying.
The first Saudi demand was that Britain expels two anti-Saudi dissidents, identified by The Guardian as Saad al-Faqih and Mohammed al-Masari.
Faqih, who has asylum in Britain, is accused of being involved in an assassination plot against King Abdullah. But the newspaper said Faqih denied support for violence, adding that the Foreign Office does not believe him to be a danger to the country.
Masari apparently left the Saudi kingdom in 1994 for Britain.
The second Saudi request is that British Airways resume flights to Riyadh after they were cancelled on security grounds.
Finally, Saudi Arabia wants British authorities to drop a corruption probe implicating the Saudi ruling family and BAE. The Guardian said Crown Prince Sultan's son-in-law, Prince Turki bin Nasr, was at the centre of a "slush fund" investigation by the Serious Fraud Office.
The largest export deal in Britain's history was Al Yamamah agreement to supply Saudi Arabia with fighter jets, artillery and other equipment.
The deal was signed in the 1980s and the main contractor was BAE Systems. Defense analysts said the series of contracts was worth about 20 billion pounds.
Link Here
Blair in secret Saudi mission
Expulsions link to £40bn arms deal David Leigh and Ewen MacAskillTuesday September 27, 2005The Guardian
Link Here
Britain held secret talks with Saudi Arabia over a major arms deal worth up to £40 billion ($80 billion), a British newspaper reported on Tuesday, citing unidentified defense sources.
The Guardian newspaper said British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Defense Minister John Reid both visited the Saudi kingdom to urge Crown Prince Sultan to buy a European fighter jet called the Typhoon.
According to the report, Blair visited the Saudi capital, Riyadh, for talks on the arms sale on the way to Singapore, where the UK was bidding for the 2010 Olympics, and Reid followed three weeks later for a two-day visit.
Neither Blair's office nor the Defense Ministry could immediately comment on the report.
The Typhoon jets are manufactured by British defense and aerospace giant BAE Systems, Airbus parent EADS and Alenia Aeronautica, part of Italy’s Finmeccanica.
Spain, through EADS’s Spanish operations, is also among the Eurofighter program’s four founding states.
The makers of the jet say it is the world's most advanced multi-role combat plane. It can attack targets on the ground and in the air and has a top speed of 1,321 miles per hour, according to Reuters.
Saudi demands
The Guardian said the British-Saudi talks had been stalled because of three Saudi demands.
"Negotiations are stalling because the Saudis are demanding three favors," the newspaper quoted some unidentified defense, diplomatic and legal sources as saying.
The first Saudi demand was that Britain expels two anti-Saudi dissidents, identified by The Guardian as Saad al-Faqih and Mohammed al-Masari.
Faqih, who has asylum in Britain, is accused of being involved in an assassination plot against King Abdullah. But the newspaper said Faqih denied support for violence, adding that the Foreign Office does not believe him to be a danger to the country.
Masari apparently left the Saudi kingdom in 1994 for Britain.
The second Saudi request is that British Airways resume flights to Riyadh after they were cancelled on security grounds.
Finally, Saudi Arabia wants British authorities to drop a corruption probe implicating the Saudi ruling family and BAE. The Guardian said Crown Prince Sultan's son-in-law, Prince Turki bin Nasr, was at the centre of a "slush fund" investigation by the Serious Fraud Office.
The largest export deal in Britain's history was Al Yamamah agreement to supply Saudi Arabia with fighter jets, artillery and other equipment.
The deal was signed in the 1980s and the main contractor was BAE Systems. Defense analysts said the series of contracts was worth about 20 billion pounds.
Link Here
Blair in secret Saudi mission
Expulsions link to £40bn arms deal David Leigh and Ewen MacAskillTuesday September 27, 2005The Guardian
Link Here
posted by Kangaroo Brisbane Australia at 2:31 PM
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