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Saturday December 21, 2024

Canada mulls canceling Saudi arms deal over Yemen, Khashoggi

By AFP
December 18, 2018

MONTREAL: Canada is looking into ways to cancel a giant 2014 weapons deal with Saudi Arabia, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Sunday, as criticism mounts over the kingdom’s role in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and the Riyadh-led war in Yemen. Trudeau had earlier said that it would be "extremely difficult" to withdraw from the contract, signed by the previous administration, "without Canadians paying exorbitant penalties." But as evidence emerged of direct Saudi involvement in Khashoggi’s murder on October 2, Canada in late November announced sanctions against 17 Saudi nationals linked to killing.