German ruling coalition social democrats, junior partners intend to extend the ban on arms exports to Saudi Arabia after March 9, despite pressure from the UK and France, Reuters reported. 

According to the deputy leader of the SPD in Parliament, Rolf Mutzenich, his party would fight to stop the arms supply to the already approved deals in Riyadh.

“We will push to continue the halt in arms exports to Saudi Arabia beyond the March 9 deadline, since the reasons for the imposition of the moratorium have not changed,” Muetzenich wrote in an essay published on Monday in the SPD newspaper Vorwaerts.

Large European companies, including Airbus and the British BAE Systems, warn this ban may affect their financial performance.