German Mideast expert urge end to Berlin's arms exports to S.Arabia http://www.irna.ir/ENNewsShow.aspx?NID=30401232&SRCH=1

A leading German Middle East expert here Tuesday called for an immediate end to Berlin's massive arms exports to Saudi Arabia.Addressing a news conference in Berlin, Margret Johannsen of the Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy at the University of Hamburg (IFSH) labeled German weapon sales to Saudi Arabia 'questionable' in the wake of Riyadh's occupation of Bahrain. 

Arms deliveries to these regimes are 'not desirable,' she added. Johannsen stressed arms exports to tension-filled regions and dictatorships should be  banned. The center-right government of Chancellor Angela Merkel has faced mounting criticism for its weapons exports to Saudi Arabia, totalling 441 million euros between 2006-2009. 

German hi-tech military gadgetry to the Arabian country included airplanes, spare parts for fighter jets, missile parts, refueling aircraft, grenades, sea mine removal instruments and communication systems. Critics have slammed German arms exports to the volatile Middle East region since the country's constitution bans the sales of weapons to a crisis area.