Saudi Arabia eyes buying five German Type 209 submarines
Saudi Arabia wants to buy five German submarines for around 2.5 billion euros ($3.4 billion) and more than two dozen more in the future, a newspaper reported Sunday.
Citing unidentified government sources, Sunday's Bild newspaper said Riyadh had its eye initially on buying the five Type 209 submarines, followed long-term by up to 25 submarines in a 12-billion-euro deal.
It said the chancellery had, in a letter to Saudi Arabia in the summer, indicated a swift and sympathetic examination of Riyadh's weapons plans as soon as the new German government was established following September elections.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives are currently locked in negotiations with the centre-left Social Democrats on forming a grand coalition.
A German government spokeswoman declined to comment and would not confirm or deny the reported letter.
http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=62360
