Washington has approved a maintenance contract for Saudi Arabia's helicopter fleet, the first with the kingdom since Joe Biden arrived at the White House, the State Department said Thursday (September 16).
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This contract, which may amount to $ 500 million, is intended to ensure the maintenance of the Saudi fleet of helicopters, in particular the Apache and Black Hawk attack vehicles, as well as the future fleet of Chinook transport helicopters. , said US diplomacy in a statement.
It involves sending two US officials and 350 employees of subcontracting companies to Saudi Arabia for two years, the statement said.
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President Biden, who had promised before his election to make
the Saudi leaders
"pay"
for their responsibility in the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and to treat them as
"outcasts"
, ordered from the start of his mandate a review of all arms contracts concluded by his predecessor Donald Trump with Saudi Arabia. Last week, US Defense Minister Lloyd Austin canceled a planned visit to Saudi Arabia at the last minute, failing to meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, says MBS, who is officially Saudi Minister of Defense. “MBS” was the main point of contact during the Trump presidency, but Joe Biden has indicated that he will communicate directly with King Salman.
