The Defence Commission of the Spanish Congress has this Tuesday rejected asking the Spanish government to suspend arms sales to Saudi Arabia. The suggestion was voted down by PSOE and PP, helped by Ciudadanos' abstention.
PSOE and PP deputies joined together to reject various proposals from PDeCAT, ERC, Podemos and Compromís calling for a halt to the sale of arms to Saudi Arabia based on their involvement in the civil war in Yemen and after the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in their consulate in Istanbul.
Antonio Gutiérrez Llimones (PSOE) asked for "prudence and to wait to find out the facts" before taking such decisions. This comes two days after Germany did take just such a decision. "Spain is a country which meets its international commitments, the decisions taken should be collective, in the headquarters of the European Union," Gutiérrez Llimones argued.
The deputy noted the consequences a decision to suspend sales would have on a pending contract to buy five corvettes from Navantia for 1.8 billion euros (£1.6 billion; $2.1 billion). He asked PDeCAT, ERC and Compromís if their would hold the same position if the shipyard was located in Catalonia or Valencia instead of Cadiz.