Trump against canceling $110 billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia
US President Donald Trump today said he is against canceling the $110bn mega arms deal with Saudi Arabia as this will hurt America's economy and jobs. Under tremendous pressure from the media and the Congress for taking some action against Saudi, after the sudden disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey, Trump said he's trying to get at the bottom of the issue.
Khashoggi is suspected to have been killed by Saudi officials
Khashoggi, who wrote for The Washington Post, is feared to have been killed by Saudi officials inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, where he was last seen entering. Turkish officials claim they have the audio and video which indicate Khashoggi was brutally killed inside the consulate. Saudi Arabia has denied the allegations so far. But it has been facing global outrage on the issue.
Trump says his move will impact jobs in US
Trump said he plans to call the Saudi King on Khashoggi issue to seek details. He said his move against canceling the deal would have an impact on jobs in the US. In addition, countries such as Russia and China are ready to supply them with the necessary arms, if the US backs off. But he hasn't made any final determination in this regard.
I worked very hard to get this order: Trump
"We'll have to make a determination. I do think this: That I worked very hard to get the order for the military. It's $110 billion. I believe it's the largest order ever made. It's 450,000 jobs. It's the best equipment in the world," Trump said.
US would be hurting itself by canceling the deal: Trump
Trump said by canceling the deal, the US would be hurting itself. He said there are other things the US can do that are very powerful and strong. Coming back to Khashoggi, he said, "Now, as of this moment, nobody knows what happened... We're looking into it very seriously. Turkey is looking into it at the highest level. So is Saudi Arabia."
Besides arms deal, Saudi to also invest $450bn in US
Trump believes canceling the arms deal would be "very foolish" for the country. Apart from the deal, he said Saudi is going to invest $450bn in the US through their companies. "All of these- Raytheon, General Electric, and General Motors, were getting contracts for $25bn, $30bn, $40bn," he said. He said that's why he made his first overseas trip to Saudi Arabia last year.
