“There is an urgent need to clarify what happened — we are far from this having been cleared up and those responsible held to account,” she said at a news conference. “I agree with all those who say that the, albeit already limited, arms exports can’t take place in the current circumstances,” Merkel said. While the move affects future deals, exports that have already been approved to the second-biggest foreign market for German arms equipment will proceed for now.

Germany is the first major U.S. ally to cast doubts over future arms sales after the killing of Washington Post contributing columnist Jamal Khashoggi, and the move is likely to put pressure on bigger exporters, including the United States, to do the same. President Trump has ruled out suspending arms exports but faces bipartisan calls to hold the perpetrators behind the writer’s killing accountable.