Athens would abide by EU sanctions on Saudi Arabia, spokesman says
Greece will abide by a possible European Union decision to impose an arms embargo against Saudi Arabia, a government spokesman said on Wednesday amid pressure from the European Parliament on governments of the bloc to stop selling weapons to a country accused of targeting civilians in Yemen.
Speaking to journalists on Wednesday, government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos said that a controversial deal to sell Greek ammunition to Saudi Arabia is currently stalled.
The agreement, worth an estimated 66 million euros ($78.3 million), has come under heavy criticism from opposition parties. At least two SYRIZA MPs have called for its cancellation on grounds that the arms could be used in Yemen.
Meanwhile, New Democracy opposition claims that Defense Minister Panos Kammenos, who is also Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras junior coalition partner, had negotiated a shady deal through an unauthorized middleman instead of dealing directly with the Saudi government.
