The administration of US President Joe Biden has suspended a number of arms sales to other countries. The TASS agency was informed about this by the US State Department.
The department explained that “the execution of some unfinished deliveries and transactions in the defense sector has been suspended.” The Department of State attributes this to the need to “enable the new leadership to evaluate” such transactions, which is a common procedure when a new administration starts.
So the State Department explained the publication of The Wall Street Journal, which reported, citing sources, that the Biden administration is suspending arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). In particular, they discussed high-precision ammunition for Riyadh and fifth generation F-35 fighters for the UAE.
Earlier, a member of Biden's team, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, during the hearings regarding his candidacy for this post, supported the supply of American weapons to Ukraine after the inauguration. In December 2020, it was reported that US arms deliveries to Ukraine were record high. So, over the past year, Washington sold weapons to Kiev in the amount of $ 510.5 million, which is almost twice the amount for 2019.
