Merkel says Germany should halt arms exports to Saudi Arabia

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday said she supports an end to weapons exports to Saudi Arabia following the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

“I agree with all those who say that the already limited arms exports … can’t take place in the situation we’re currently in,” Merkel told reporters in Berlin, according to The Associated Press. 

Merkel also said Germany will consider additional “reactions” to Khashoggi’s death, the AP reported.

{mosads}Khashoggi, a columnist for The Washington Post, died inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul earlier this month in a suspected murder. 

Merkel’s comments come after German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said Saturday that there was “no basis” for the arms sales “as long as we don’t know what happened” with Khashoggi, according to the AP. 

Last week, Germany joined France and the U.K. in calling for a “credible” investigation into the disappearance of Khashoggi, who had last been seen entering the consulate Oct. 2.

Following weeks of silence, the Saudi kingdom on Friday acknowledged that Khashoggi was killed inside the consulate, saying he died during a brawl gone wrong. Saudi Arabia announced it had detained 18 people in connection to his death.

But Saudi Arabia’s explanation has drawn international skepticism, including from U.S. lawmakers, some of whom have called for the U.S. to halt its own weapons exports to Saudi Arabia. 

President Trump, however, has so far said that the U.S. shouldn’t end those sales, which support Saudi Arabian forces in the Yemen civil war.