Weapons exports from German factories have decreased for the third consecutive year. Behind the continued trend has been a shift in the attitude of the German government.
Export power Germany has long had a troubled relationship with selling arms abroad, a legacy of its dark history that is now spelling deep discord with its European allies.
Germany said Wednesday it would hold firm on its decision to halt weapons exports to Saudi Arabia, shrugging off British warnings that the embargo could hurt European credibility and efforts to bring peace in Yemen.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel vowed on Friday that Berlin would not export arms to Saudi Arabia until the murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi is clarified, a stance French President
Emmanuel Macron dubbed "pure demagoguery".
European nations should take a joint stance on whether to halt arms exports to Saudi Arabia over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said Monday.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Sunday that Berlin would not export arms to Saudi Arabia for now in the wake of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi's violent death.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Saturday said those behind Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi's death must be brought to book and called for "transparency" from Riyadh.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel met Saudi King Salman on Sunday, state media said, as she began a visit focused on bilateral relations and preparations for the next G20 meeting.
Three major German news outlets have reported that religious groups from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar have been increasingly supporting Salafists in Germany, raising concerns among intelligence agencies.
The German Defence Minister was in Saudi Arabia on Thursday aiming to conclude a training deal for Saudi military officers, eliciting sharp criticism from German left-leaning parties.
Germany's Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel warned Saudi Arabia on Monday Berlin could review military exports to the oil-rich nation in light of Riyadh's mass executions of prisoners two days earlier.
Vice-Chancellor and Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel is off to the Gulf region - to showcase a decidedly less lethal set of wares than usual to the oil-rich states.
Bayern Munich has drawn the ire of Saudi prince and Al-Hilal football club owner Abdulrahman bin Musaid after members of his team were turned away from what was supposed to be a joint dinner with the German players, Bild reported on Tuesday.
Saudi Arabia bought more military equipment off Germany in 2012 than any other country, a report on Monday revealed. But German arms sales on the whole sank in value from €5.4 billion to €4.7 billion.
German weapons exports to Persian Gulf states more than doubled between 2011 and 2012, with Saudi Arabia by far the biggest buyer, according to information dug up by a left-wing MP published in Friday's <i>Süddeutsche Zeitung</i> newspaper.
Saudi Arabia is planning to buy German patrol boats for a total of around €1.5 billion euros despite opposition in Germany, a newspaper reported on Sunday.
The German government has already agreed "in principle" to sell 30 German Dingo 2 armoured vehicles worth about €100 million to Saudi Arabia, it was reported Sunday.
Chancellor Angela Merkel has refused to discuss Saudi Arabia's reported interest in German armoured vehicles amid concerns they might be used to suppress dissent in the Gulf region.
The federal police force has spent nearly a million euros of German taxpayer's money on training border guards in Saudi Arabia, the government has admitted.
Being the world's third biggest arms exporter did not prevent Germany from joining France, Britain and Sweden to call on the United Nations to draw up a new arms trade treaty to reduce what they called "a growing threat to humanity."
A group of activists has offered a cash reward for information leading to the arrest of the German arms manufacturers reportedly planning to deliver up to 800 tanks to Saudi Arabia - and sent one of the company's owners a bullet by post.
Saudi Arabia wants to buy 600-800 Leopard battle tanks from Germany, more than twice as many as originally planned, the Sunday newspaper <i>Bild am Sonntag reported</i>, quoting government sources.
Germany's opposition Green party is taking the government to court over a reported secret deal to sell hundreds of tanks to Saudi Arabia, a party spokeswoman said Monday.
