Following a statement by an Emirati official, "the United States has been informed that it will suspend discussions on the purchase of F-35 aircraft." Reference to "technical

requirements and operational constraints on sovereignty and cost-benefit analysis" Leading to the reassessment, the United States said it was willing to proceed with the sale of F-35 fighters and marching aircraft to the Emirates after Abu Dhabi informed Washington that it would suspend negotiations on the $23 billion deal, which included other sophisticated munitions.

United States Secretary of State Anthony Plinkin said in Kuala Lumpur that Washington had to review certain matters but was ready to proceed with the sale.

"We wanted to ascertain, for example, our commitment to ensuring Israel's qualitative military superiority, so we wanted to conduct a thorough review of any techniques sold or transferred to other partners in the region, including the Emirates," added Plinkin.

In Kuala Lumpur, Plinkin also said that Washington had to review certain matters but was ready to proceed with the sale.

A person familiar with the negotiations said that the thorny points between the United States and the United Arab Emirates were about how the aircraft could be deployed and how much sophisticated F-35 technology would allow the Emirates to benefit from them.

The Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said earlier that the U.S. partnership with the Emirates was more important than a weapons deal.

He expected the arms deal to be put forward during a meeting of US and Emirati officials in the Pentagon this week.