{"id":796,"date":"2023-06-01T23:26:06","date_gmt":"2023-06-01T23:26:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/?p=796"},"modified":"2023-06-02T14:35:36","modified_gmt":"2023-06-02T14:35:36","slug":"italy-lifts-arms-embargo-from-saudi-arabia-amid-yemen-peace-efforts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/italy-lifts-arms-embargo-from-saudi-arabia-amid-yemen-peace-efforts\/","title":{"rendered":"Italy lifts arms embargo from Saudi Arabia amid Yemen peace efforts"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"selectionShareable\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Military equipment exports to Saudi Arabia had been restricted in 2019 and 2020 to prevent their being used in the Yemen conflict. But the embargo is no longer necessary &#8220;in light of the changed situation&#8221; on the ground, the government said.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newarab.com\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/large_16_9\/public\/media\/images\/3B386490-BB93-4300-A91A-8D5C47DC16B3.jpg?h=d1cb525d&amp;itok=PTkQHScv\" alt=\"Yemen War\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"selectionShareable\" style=\"text-align: justify;\">Italy has lifted its embargo on arms sales to Saudi Arabia after years of restriction, amid the recent peace initiatives to resolve the conflict in Yemen.<\/p>\n<p class=\"selectionShareable\" style=\"text-align: justify;\">Over the course of the years 2019 to 2021, Italy and other Western states\u00a0restricted\u00a0arms sales to Saudi Arabia through embargoes imposed on defence trade with the Kingdom, in efforts to prevent the arms&#8217; use in the 12-year-long conflict in Yemen, where Riyadh had launched an extended military campaign against the Iran-backed Houthi rebel group.<\/p>\n<div class=\"youtube-embed\" data-video_id=\"vn9KKc0o8_o\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Yemen peace talks offer hope for war\u2019s end\" width=\"696\" height=\"392\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/vn9KKc0o8_o?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p class=\"selectionShareable\" style=\"text-align: justify;\">In a statement yesterday following a cabinet meeting, however, the Italian government announced that the embargo was no longer necessary &#8220;in light of the changed situation&#8221; on the ground.<\/p>\n<p class=\"selectionShareable\" style=\"text-align: justify;\">It praised Saudi Arabia&#8217;s recent mediation efforts and talks with the Houthis \u2013 which has resulted in the release and swapping of hundreds of prisoners on both sides, as well as a cessation in the conflict \u2013 as being conducive towards peace in Yemen and the region.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"5wwJcVU11g\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/2023\/06\/02\/putin-zelenskyy-to-visit-turkiye-for-talks-with-erdogan\/\">Putin, Zelenskyy to visit Turkiye for talks with Erdogan<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px);\" title=\"&#8220;Putin, Zelenskyy to visit Turkiye for talks with Erdogan&#8221; &#8212; diplomatic\" src=\"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/2023\/06\/02\/putin-zelenskyy-to-visit-turkiye-for-talks-with-erdogan\/embed\/#?secret=vI12cVOLb6#?secret=5wwJcVU11g\" data-secret=\"5wwJcVU11g\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p class=\"selectionShareable\" style=\"text-align: justify;\">Rome added that the decision to lift the arms embargo was &#8220;in line&#8221; with its\u00a0lifting\u00a0of another arms embargo on the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in April.<\/p>\n<p class=\"selectionShareable\" style=\"text-align: justify;\">Alongside the peace talks with the Houthis, which many hope will create a lasting resolution to the conflict, Saudi Arabia also agreed in March to restore full diplomatic ties with Iran in a China-brokered deal.<\/p>\n<p class=\"selectionShareable\" style=\"text-align: justify;\">The spate of peace talks and restoration of relations pursued by the Kingdom embodies a significant normalisation drive by Riyadh throughout the first half of 2023, which has resulted in a wider thawing of relations between the Gulf state and Western states which have threatened to isolate it over the past few years.<\/p>\n<div class=\"youtube-embed\" data-video_id=\"Qq7mfWu8_vg\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Saudi-Yemen prisoner swap day two: Peace in Yemen as prisoners of war return home | World News| WION\" width=\"696\" height=\"392\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Qq7mfWu8_vg?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Military equipment exports to Saudi Arabia had been restricted in 2019 and 2020 to prevent their being used in the Yemen conflict. But the embargo is no longer necessary &#8220;in light of the changed situation&#8221; on the ground, the government said. Italy has lifted its embargo on arms sales to Saudi Arabia after years of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":797,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-796","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-uncategorized"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/796","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=796"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/796\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":798,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/796\/revisions\/798"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/797"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=796"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=796"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=796"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}