UAE calls off meeting over F-35 deal with US

The development took place after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu came out publicly to deny knowledge of arms deal between Washington and Abu Dhabi. The Gulf state realised that Netanyahu's statement violated an understanding following their historic announcement on August 13 of the normalisation of diplomatic ties.

Abu Dhabi: Over the differences on the sale of the American F-35 fighter jets a planned meeting with the US and Israel was cancelled by UAE, an Al-Jazeera report said on Monday.

Last week, US declared that an agreement was under evaluation for the UAE to buy the fighter jets and the deal could reach in six months.

US has already sold F-35 jet to nations including Korea, Japan and Israel but in case of Gulf nation it requires a deeper analysis because of American policy to maintain a military advantage in the Middle East.

The development took place after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu came out publicly to deny knowledge of arms deal between Washington and Abu Dhabi.

The Gulf state realised that Netanyahu's statement violated an understanding following their historic announcement on August 13 of the normalisation of diplomatic ties.

F-35 jet is a top priority deal for UAE which relates to the normalisation accord with Israel.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is in the Middle East to boost the agreement, which was brokered by officials of the Trump administration.