Germany is now willing to allow the sale of more Eurofighter jets to Saudi Arabia, German Foreign Minister Annalena Burbock said on Sunday, announcing the lifting of a German veto blocking the implementation of a years-old contract.

“We do not see ourselves, as the German federal government, as opposing British aspirations for more Eurofighters,” Ms Burbock told reporters during her visit to Israel, pointing to what she said was Riyadh’s constructive role in the security crisis in Middle East following the attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas against Israel on October 7, triggering the war in the Gaza Strip.

Germany froze arms sales to Saudi Arabia after the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in late 2018, which was directly attributed to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman by US intelligence services, preventing a major order for 48 Eurofighter Typhoons, which had signed during the prince’s visit to London years ago.

The Eurofighter is the fruit of a consortium of Britain, Germany, Italy and Spain, in which the industries BAE Systems, Airbus and Leonardo participate.

During her visit to Israel, Mrs. Burbock noted that Saudi Arabia and Israel did not abandon “the policy of normalization” of their relations after the outbreak of war on October 7. “The fact that Saudi Arabia is now intercepting missiles fired by the Houthis against Israel underscores this and we are grateful,” he continued. “The fact that the Saudi Air Force is using Eurofighter in this context is not exactly a secret,” added the Foreign Minister.

Saudi Arabia “contributes decisively to Israel’s security, even these days, and helps prevent the risk of regional conflagration,” he said.

Germany’s embargo has been irritating its partners for years, especially Britain and France.

This position, adopted during the days of conservative Angela Merkel as chancellor, was enshrined in the program agreement of Chancellor Olaf Soltz’s SPD/Greens/FDP coalition; the environmentalists—Ms Burbock’s party—were very strict about this ban, also because of Saudi Arabia’s role in the war in Yemen.

But “the world, particularly here in the Middle East, has become a completely different place since October 7,” Ms Burbok justified yesterday.

Tones have been raised again recently over Berlin’s behavior, with Airbus chairman Guillaume Faury saying a sales freeze is hurting Germany’s “credibility” with its partners.