ABU DHABI: Miffed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s opposition to the sale of F-35 fighters to the UAE, Abu Dhabi has cancelled a planned meeting with the US and Israel.
According to the US news website Axios, the UAE shelved a planned meeting with the US and Israel on Friday after Netanyahu came out publicly to deny knowledge of the proposed arms deal between the US and the UAE.
Axios said the UAE wanted to send a message as it felt Netanyahu’s statement violated an understanding between them- following their announcement on 13 August of normalisation of diplomatic ties.
“They (UAE) were particularly angry that he (Netanyahu) told members of his Cabinet that he would raise his concerns about the deal with members of Congress,” the report said. The report added that the F-35 deal is a “top priority” for the UAE, which considers it as linked to the normalisation accord with Israel.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is currently in the Middle East to promote the agreement between UAE and Israel, which was brokered by officials of the Trump administration. On Monday, he said the US would ensure Israel retains a military advantage in the region.
“The United States has a legal requirement with respect to qualitative military edge. We will continue to honour that,” Pompeo told reporters after a meeting with Netanyahu.
Pompeo pointed out that Washington had also provided the UAE with military support for more than 20 years, measures he described as needed to stave off shared threats from Iran – also Israel’s regional rival.