UAE threatens to cancel US purchase of F-35 planes

With the arrival of Joe Biden to power, the sale of F-35 fighter jets to the United Arab Emirates by the United States has been temporarily suspended.

JACK GUEZ AFP / File

Text by: Nicolas Keraudren Follow

2 min

In the United Arab Emirates, authorities last week threatened to cancel the purchase of US F-35 fighter jets over " 

 ”too high.

In the process, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he was "ready to move forward if the Emirates decide to pursue these projects."

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From our correspondent in Dubai

, 

It was in November 2020 that this transaction, long awaited by Abu Dhabi, was approved at the last minute by Donald Trump's administration.

At the time, the sale of fifty F-35s to the United Arab Emirates was interpreted as a sort of consideration for the normalization of relations between the Gulf monarchy and the Hebrew state.

The so-called Abraham Agreements had in fact been signed two months earlier under the aegis of Washington.

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However, with the arrival of Joe Biden as head of the United States, the plans have changed.

This sale of the latest generation of American weapons, which amounts to a total of 23 billion dollars, was temporarily suspended and then put on hold.

Last April, the Biden administration told Congress it would move forward on this issue.

But since then nothing.

These procrastinations therefore do not seem to please Abu Dhabi, which has decided to put pressure on its historic ally.

Joe Biden on a different line from Donald Trump

That says a lot about the current relationship between the United States and the United Arab Emirates.

During the last presidential elections in the United States, the Gulf authorities - and in particular those of the United Arab Emirates - have always

with whom they had a rather idyllic relationship.

Joe Biden's line is clearly different.

The American disengagement in the Middle East is more and more palpable.

Tensions between Washington and Abu Dhabi have also escalated over the UAE's growing cooperation with China.

Other actors could therefore play a more important role in the future in the region.

This is the case for France.

Emmanuel Macron's visit to the Gulf on December 3 and 4 illustrates this.

The purchase by Abu Dhabi of 80

and 12 helicopters from France earlier this month clearly shows this trend.

Paris has also tried to play its all-out claiming to want to become "

" in the region.

But Washington still remains - at least at this point - the number one priority for Abu Dhabi.

The monarchy which constantly seeks to strengthen its army could indeed buy these American fighter planes.

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