| Arabians deny meeting Brits clandestinely over Eurofighter deal |
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Government officials in Saudi Arabia denied having held any clandestine meeting with British officials on Sunday purportedly to buy Eurofighter Typhoon jets. Saudi officials, however, acceded that the British government had offered to sell Eurofighter jets manufactured by BAE Systems to them. Reportedly both British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Defense Minister John Reid are supposed to have met Saudi officials regarding this issue.
It is also alleged in few newspaper reports that French President Jacques Chirac was trying to scuttle the above bid which is claimed to be worth ₤40 billion by persuading Saudis into buying Dassault Rafale.
Meanwhile, Reuters says that the Saudis are angered with the British over the refuge offered to their dissidents Saad al-Fagih and Mohammad al-Masari. While Guardian Unlimited feels that the deportation of these two to appease the Saudis in order to bag the deal could cause “dissent from the Foreign Office, the Serious Fraud Office, and British Airways”
In the month of July, BAE CEO Mike Turner, according to the Flight International magazine had said that, “We've had 43 billion pounds from Al Yamamah over the last 20 years and there could be another 40 billion".
Posted
on : Tue, 04 Oct 2005 03:25 GMT | General News
By : Pippa Fielding
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