Bloomberg reported that the US administration is pressuring the UAE with the aim of forcing it to take steps to distance itself from China, which could threaten the deal on Washington's export of F-35 fighters to Abu Dhabi.
Today, Friday, the agency quoted three people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named, as saying that the United States, in particular, is asking the UAE to abandon in its telecom networks the use of the products of the Chinese giant “Huawei” within the next four years, before the scheduled date for receiving the Emirati side. F-35 fighters (ie 2026 or 2027).
But Emirati officials, according to the report, insist they will need more time and "affordable alternatives" to Huawei products.
The report pointed out that the consultations between the two parties dealt, in particular, with the possibility of the UAE acquiring alternative equipment from the "Samsung", "Ericsson" or "Nokia" companies.
Bloomberg confirmed that the controversy between Washington and Abu Dhabi over China dates back to the era of former US President Donald Trump, explaining that the previous administration had unsuccessfully tried to persuade the UAE to abandon cooperation with Huawei and prevent any Chinese plans to deploy military bases in the region as part of the deal related to the terms of the deal. With the export of modern weapons worth 23 billion dollars, including "F-35" and drones.
Agency sources revealed that the deal is still in place despite the Biden administration launching the process of reviewing Trump’s decision in this regard, but the differences between the two parties regarding “Huawei” and other Chinese technologies are serious and there are no guarantees that Abu Dhabi will never get the advanced fighter produced by Lockheed Martin. ".
A person familiar with the UAE's negotiating position told the agency that Abu Dhabi understands the importance of protecting sensitive technologies, noting that good progress has been made in the talks and there is plenty of time to agree on technical details.
But "Bloomberg" indicated that a number of officials in the Biden administration had previously expressed in their previous articles their doubts about the ability of the UAE to ensure the security of sensitive American technologies.
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