Belgian Defence minister: ‘No decision yet' on military support for Gulf states
There is “no decision yet” on the request for defensive support from the Gulf states of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, Belgian Defence minister Theo Francken said after a core cabinet meeting on Friday. “We will look into it further,” he said.
Saudi Arabia and the UAE have asked Belgium for military support to fend off attacks from Iran. Since the Israeli-American operation in Iran, the regime has been striking back with massive missile and drone attacks on the Gulf states. For the time being, the air defence system is still largely able to repel this barrage, but stocks of anti-aircraft missiles are dwindling rapidly.
The request from the Gulf states has been examined by Defence staff over the past few days. Riyadh and Abu Dhabi are not thought to be asking for specific equipment but have made a more general request. Belgium has, however, recently invested in drone defence and detection systems. It is possible that Saudi Arabia and the UAE have set their sights on these.
The government must decide on any military deployment abroad. The core cabinet discussed the matter on Friday morning, but no decision has yet been reached. “We will look into it further,” said Francken, of N-V, as he left the meeting. He gave no further comment.
It was already apparent last week that the government was divided over military support for the Gulf states. For CD&V and Vooruit, it is out of the question: their reasoning is that Saudi Arabia and the UAE are not NATO allies and Belgium should stay well away from the chaotic war being waged by US president Donald Trump and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. N-VA, MR and Les Engagés, however, are in favour of providing defensive aid.
Minister of Defence Theo Francken © BELGA PHOTO ERIC LALMAND
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