WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said he is considering approving the sale of F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia, just hours before Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is due to visit the White House on Tuesday.
“I will say that we will be doing that. We’ll be selling F-35s,” Trump told reporters when asked if he planned to authorise the sale of the advanced aircraft.
Trump said Friday that Riyadh had expressed a strong interest in purchasing the jets manufactured by Lockheed Martin. “They wanna buy a lot of jets,” he said. “They’ve asked me to look at it. They want to buy a lot of 35,’ but they want to buy actually more than that, fighter jets.”
His remarks came as several US media outlets reported that he is leaning toward supporting the sale.
Bloomberg, citing an administration official, reported that Trump and the crown prince are expected to reach an agreement enabling Saudi Arabia to acquire the F-35s during the visit, along with other economic and defence arrangements, including a liquefied natural gas deal.
