The United Arab Emirates denied on Tuesday that it had supplied Libya with powerful U.S.-made missiles.
The UAE said it is committed to the U.N. Security Council Resolutions 1970 and 1973 on sanctions and arms embargo, reiterating willingness to fully cooperate with U.N. experts in the issue, according to a statement by the International Security Cooperation Department in the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.
The UAE also urged all parties to de-escalate tensions and to re-engage in the U.N.’s political process.
If confirmed, the transfer of those weapons to Libya would constitute “a serious violation of United States law,” Senator Robert Menendez, the ranking Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, said in a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday.
“You are surely aware that if these allegations prove true you may be obligated by law to terminate all arms sales to the United Arab Emirates,” Menendez wrote.
Any transfer of U.S. arms would also breach a U.N. arms embargo on Libya in place since 2011.
The New York Times reported on Friday that forces loyal to Libya’s unity government had discovered four Javelin missiles at a base used by men under the command of Khalifa Haftar, who has waged a months-long offensive to take Tripoli.
The newspaper said markings on the U.S.-made missiles indicated they had been sold to the United Arab Emirates in 2008.
The UAE is one of the main supporters of the Libyan National Army.
