Qatar announced the purchase from U.S. fighter jets for $12 billion
The Ministry of defence of Qatar announced the signing of an agreement for the purchase of American fighters McDonnel Douglas F-15 Eagle for $12 billion.
According to sources Reuters, the meeting between the head of the Pentagon by Jim Mattis and representatives of Qatar, which planned to sign the contract, was to be held on Wednesday.
The Pentagon has confirmed that James Mattis met with Qatari Minister of defense Khaled bin Muhammad al-Atya and discussed with him “the final steps in the purchase of American fighters F-15”. In a statement the Agency says that the deal will strengthen “interaction and cooperation in the security sphere between the United States and Qatar”. It is noted that the meeting also discussed the de-escalation of tension between Qatar and several Arab countries.
Earlier Bloomberg, citing sources, reported that we are talking about 36 aircraft. Preliminary approval for the sale of fighter jets to Qatar were issued by the US Congress in November 2016.
Recall that in early June, with Qatar severed diplomatic relations with ten countries: Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Yemen, Libya, Maldives, Mauritius, Mauritania and the Comoros. Later Saudi Arabia and Egypt, sets the tone for a campaign against Doha was forced to ease the pressure on the Emirate. The fracture is outlined on the background of the speech of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sharply criticized the isolation of Doha. To support indicatorsso the coalition refused, and several key countries in the region.