AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – The Dutch caretaker government has lifted restrictions on weapons deliveries to Turkey, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in a move to join a Franco-German-Spanish arms treaty.
The now-lifted restrictions followed a “presumption of denial” policy and meant that permits for arms exports to the three countries involved were denied unless it could be “irrefutably” proven that the arms would not be used for the conflicts in north Syria or Yemen.
In a letter to parliament last week, the government said it needs to remove the policy as it wants to join a Franco-German-Spanish treaty that regulates arms exports while following EU and UN arms export criteria.
None of the (potential) treaty countries apply a “presumption of denial” policy as treaty partners trust each other’s export control assessments, the government added in the letter.
(Reporting by Charlotte Van Campenhout, Editing by William Maclean)
