AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE,
Jerusalem: Pressure from Washington forced Israel to freeze a major contract with Venezuela to upgrade its US-manufactured F-16 fighter jets, the Israeli defence ministry said Friday.
Media reports Thursday said Israel had pulled the contract in a bid to appease Washington following high-profile fallout over a major deal with China.
The defence ministry confirmed Friday that, “in accordance with agreements between the two countries about US-manufactured weapons, Israel asked for Washington's green light over the (Venezuelan) contract.
“Contacts between the two countries (Israel and the United States) are underway,” the statement said, without giving further details.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, a firebrand politician fond of neo-Marxist rhetoric, has rankled Washington with assertions that he is an assassination target for the United States.
Washington has denied such claims.
US officials have also expressed concerns about Chavez's ties with Iran and his support for Tehran's nuclear programme.
Senior officials within Israel's military industries expressed frustration with the latest development, accusing Washington of bringing pressure to bear for commercial, rather than political reasons.
One source told the Yediot Aharonot daily that the United States was deliberately restricting the deal, worth an estimated 100 million dollars, in order to favour US competitors.
“They do not allow us to realise our potential in the world markets. This makes it very hard for us in our world sales,” he said.
Israel's ties with its usually-staunch US ally took a major hit earlier this year over a controversial deal under which Israel was to upgrade a consignment of drones it had sold to China.
Washington imposed a series of sanctions on Israel's defence industry over the deal to upgrade the drones, amid concerns that advanced US defence technology contained in Israeli equipment could be used against Taiwan.
Israel had to pay Beijing 350 million dollars in compensation after breaking an agreement inked in 2000 to supply Falcon airplanes with an AWACS radar system.
Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz is planning a visit to the Pentagon next month, a ministry spokeswoman confirmed, and is likely to focus on defence deals.
