Non geostrategic interest
Hofreiter calls for a ban on arms exports for dictatorships
07/09/2023 10:17 am
According to Green Party politician Hofreiter, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates should no longer receive German weapons. After all, the latter also have points of contact with the Wagner mercenaries. He already has a new customer in mind.
The Green politician Anton Hofreiter has spoken out in favor of no longer approving arms exports in dictatorships. “If you deliver armaments, then it’s to EU countries and NATO members or even to Ukraine, because it’s an attacked democracy,” said Hofreiter. In addition, one must carefully consider whether there is a geostrategic interest. “In the case of dictatorships, it’s actually never in our geostrategic interest, because with dictatorships you never know in which direction they will turn.”
Hofreiter again cited Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as examples, which he believes should no longer receive German armaments. For both countries, the traffic light government of the SPD, Greens and FDP will continue to approve arms exports. According to current figures from the Ministry of Economic Affairs, three export licenses with a total value of 893,550 euros were issued for Saudi Arabia in the first half of the year, and for the UAE there were 30 with a value of 59.7 million euros.
“A country like the United Arab Emirates is a dictatorship. You can also call it a monarchy, but it’s actually a dictatorship,” said Hofreiter. He pointed out that the UAE in Libya was collaborating with General Khalifa Haftar, backed by Russian Wagner mercenaries, and supporting the insurgency in Sudan. “It’s just not in our geostrategic interest.”
He also doesn’t think much of arms exports to Egypt, said Hofreiter. Outside the EU and NATO, on the other hand, he could imagine deliveries to India, for example, a democracy whose army was largely equipped by Russia. “Perhaps we will be able to get India more on our side with certain exports,” said the Green politician. But as a matter of principle, armaments should no longer be supplied to dictatorships.