The United Arab Emirates’ ambassador to Washington said he was confident the sale of F-35 jets to his country would go through after a review by President Joe Biden’s administration of some pending arms sales to US allies.
The UAE had during Donald Trump’s last day in office signed agreements to buy up to 50 F-35 jets, 18 armed drones and other defense equipment in a deal worth $23 billion.
“We did everything by the book and they will discover that once the review is complete and it will proceed,” Ambassador Yousef Al Otaiba told a virtual Washington Institute forum on Monday, describing the review as “pro forma.”
“Everything is still proceeding while undergoing a review at the same time. I am confident it will end up in the right place,” Otaiba said, Reuters reported.
“If you are going to have less of a presence and less involvement in the Middle East you can’t at the same time take tools away from your partners who are expected to do more,” he said.
The UAE has long expressed interest in acquiring the stealthy F-35 jets made by Lockheed Martin and was promised a chance to buy them in a side deal when it agreed to normalize ties with Israel last August.
