German Chancellor Angela Merkel addresses a press conference in Berlin on October 21, 2018 ahead of next weekend's regional elections in the west German state of Hesse. (AFP / Odd ANDERSEN)
BERLIN: Germany will not export arms to Saudi Arabia while the current uncertainty over the fate of journalist Jamal Khashoggi persists, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Sunday.
Campaigning for her party in a regional election, Merkel repeated to a news conference her earlier condemnation of Khashoggi's killing, which Saudi Arabia admitted had taken place inside its consulate in Istanbul.
"First, we condemn this act in the strongest terms," she said. "Second, there is an urgent need to clarify what happened - we are far from this having been cleared up and those responsible held to account ... As far as arms exports are concerned, those can't take place in the current circumstances."
