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U.S. Prepares to Lift Ban on Sales of Offensive Weapons to Saudi Arabia [1]

['Kate Kelly', 'Edward Wong', 'Vivian Nereim', 'More About Kate Kelly', 'More About Edward Wong', 'More About Vivian Nereim']

Date: 2023-12-21

The Biden administration is preparing to relax restrictions on some weapons sales to Saudi Arabia, U.S. officials said on Thursday, crediting the kingdom’s peace talks with a militia in Yemen for hastening an easing of the constraints.

President Biden imposed the ban two years ago amid concerns that U.S. weapons were being used against civilians in Yemen, where hundreds of thousands of people have died from airstrikes, fighting, disease and hunger as a Saudi-led military coalition waged war against an Iran-backed militia called the Houthis.

The expected loosening of the limits — which blocked sales of major offensive weapons to Saudi Arabia — comes as the kingdom attempts to finalize a U.S.-backed peace accord with the Houthis.

A representative for the White House National Security Council declined to comment.

The U.S. officials did not say when the easing of the ban on sales might occur. And such a move could be reversed if Mr. Biden decides it is not in U.S. interests to allow the offensive weapons to flow to Saudi Arabia, which is by far the largest buyer of American arms.

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[1] Url: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/21/us/politics/weapons-sales-saudi-arabia-yemen.html

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