Germany calls into question arms sales to Saudi over Khashoggi death

Germany should not approve arms sales to Saudi Arabia until investigations into the circumstances of journalist Jamal Khashoggi's death have been completed, Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said on Saturday.

In an interview with German public television's Tagesthemen programme, Maas said there was no reason to approve sales while it was still unclear what had happened to Khashoggi, in an apparent reversal of last month's decision to authorise the sale of artillery systems to Riyadh.

"So long as investigations are underway, so long as we don't know what happened there, there is no reason to take positive decisions on arms exports to Saudi Arabia," he said.