UAE Comments US Senate Bid to Block Arms Sale

On Thursday, the UAE ambassador to Washington Yousef Al-Otaiba commented on the move by the US senators as they blocked bids by Democrats to stop Trump administration's F-35 sale to his country.

In a tweet, Al Otaiba said, "The UAE deeply appreciates the consideration of all Senators on today’s votes. Continued US support enables the UAE to take on more of the burden for our collective security – ours, yours, and our partners."

“It improves US-UAE interoperability and allows us to be more effective together. It makes us all safer," he continued.

'Open, tolerant, and future-oriented, the UAE is charting a new positive path for the Middle East. We are committed to regional de-escalation and dialogue," Al Otaiba added. “We look forward to deepening our 49-year relationship with the US as we work together on pressing challenges like global health, climate, the proliferation of nuclear weapons, and regional conflicts."

[embed]https://twitter.com/UAEEmbassyUS/status/1336808779187429385?s=20[/embed]

It is worth mentioning that, hours ago, the U.S. Senate rejected a bipartisan effort to block President Donald Trump’s $23 billion arms sale to the United Arab Emirates.

Senators voted on two resolutions to block the arms sale, with both failing to get the simple majority to advance over the initial procedural hurdles in 46-50 and 47-49 votes, respectively.

Last month, the administration notified Congress that it approved selling the UAE up to 50 F-35s worth $10.4 billion, up to 18 MQ-9B drones worth $2.97 billion and a package of air-to-air and air-to-ground munitions worth $10 billion.

Sens. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) introduced resolutions to block the sale.