The initial deal signed by Trump was stalled by Joe Biden in his first days in the White House

Biden to approve $23 billion sale of F-35s to Emirates

photo_camera Biden aprobará la venta de los F-35 a Emiratos por valor de 23.000 millones de dólares

With the arrival of Joe Biden at the White House in January, the sale agreed between the previous administration of Donald Trump and the United Arab Emirates of the F-35 jets, as well as some unmanned aircraft, came to a standstill. "It is typical at the beginning of an administration to review pending sales, to make sure that what is being considered is something that advances our strategic objectives and our foreign policy," said the new Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, when they announced the decision not to go ahead, at least temporarily, with the sale of arms to the Emirati country. 

Despite having stated that they will go ahead with an agreement with which they did not seem to be very much in agreement when Biden managed to beat Donald Trump in the elections, the White House assures that they will continue to carefully study the conditions of the pact. A spokesman for the US State Department said it would continue to pursue the proposed plan "even as it continues to review the details and consult with Emirati officials". This is in line with statements made by Blinken back in January: "We're also trying to make sure that we have a full understanding of any commitments that have been made to secure those agreements, and that's something that we're looking at now. 

Biden aprobará la venta de los F-35 a Emiratos por valor de 23.000 millones de dólares

It seems that, having studied the agreement reached by the Trump administration, Biden's people are prepared to continue with initiatives that were criticised by the opposition and are now being signed by the White House. The UAE was very optimistic, even when Washington made public its decision to halt arms sales, which included up to 50 F-35 jets, 18 armed drones and various defence equipment valued at more than $23 billion. "We did everything by the book and they will find out once the review is completed and they will proceed," said Yousef al-Otaiba, the UAE's ambassador to the US, in January. 

In addition to this important agreement with the UAE, Joe Biden has another pact on the table that he must give the green light or not, and that is the sale of munitions to Saudi Arabia. It should not be forgotten that when Trump reached both agreements with the two countries, he was intensely criticised in Congress, only now to see them ratified by his Democratic successor. Criticism of these sales was based on the fact that they would be destined for conflicts such as the war in Yemen, worsening the situation of one of the most terrible humanitarian crises in recent history. At the time, then Secretary of State Mike Pompeo argued that the sale of munitions to the Saudis was because an emergency required it. 

Biden aprobará la venta de los F-35 a Emiratos por valor de 23.000 millones de dólares

While the United States halted arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, Italy did the same. In a climate of instability created by the departure of former prime minister Matteo Renzi's party, they blocked the sale to these two countries of an allocation of 20,000 missiles worth 400 million euros. A decision that foreign minister Luigi di Maio explained: "An act that we consider due, a clear message of peace coming from our country. For us, respect for human rights is an unwavering commitment". What will be seen from now on is whether this commitment is really as unwavering as Di Maio claimed, something that the United States does not seem to share. 

The approval of US arms sales to the UAE is an important signal of the new administration's intentions that has disappointed some Democrats. Some had expected Biden to stand his ground on arms sales to two countries that play a key role in the Yemen war - Saudi Arabia with considerably more influence. However, although the president has repeatedly stated the importance of the Yemeni crisis to his administration, it appears that priorities are now elsewhere in the White House. 

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