The government in Biden on Wednesday halted US arms sales to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia – one of several steps to address Trump’s foreign policy.
Foreign Minister Tony Blinken, who was confirmed as the country’s top diplomat on Tuesday, explained to reporters some of the government’s immediate priorities at a Wednesday press briefing.
Blinken said arms sales to the two Arab countries, which were announced shortly after election day, would be reviewed to determine if they met U.S. national security targets.
The suspension is affected by the $ 23 billion transfer of stealth F-35 fighters to the UAE.
Some fear that the UAE and Saudi Arabia will use the advanced American weapons to continue the Saudi-led war in Yemen, which will risk more civilian deaths in the country.
Blinken has expressed the most serious concern about another foreign policy implemented in the waning days of the Trump administration, which designates Yemen’s Houthi rebels as terrorists.
“We are looking at it very urgently,” Blinken told reporters.
Critics are worried that the designation of terrorists, which includes strict US sanctions, will further inflame Yemen’s humanitarian crisis.
According to Blinken, the relationship between the US and Russia will have a comprehensive overview.
And the Biden government also wants to take a deep dive into the US-Taliban peace agreement that was signed almost a year ago.
“We need to understand exactly what is in the agreement,” Blinken said before the government can decide how to proceed.
The agreement was reached to try to withdraw all US troops from Afghanistan by May 2021 after nearly 20 years of war.
Biden’s government has demanded that Zalmay Khalilzad, Trump’s special envoy for Afghanistan, stay on board so he can “continue the important work he is doing,” Blinken said.
As for Iran, Blinken said the government is prepared to ease the sanctions that the Trump administration has reintroduced, as long as the country fully complies with the 2015 nuclear deal.
With Post threads