MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman denies talks with Washington on defense package have been stalled due to his country's poor relations with the United States and expects the deal by November.
"The talks are being run well and correctly. There are concerns in the Israeli defense industries… [but] my assessment is that this will be concluded by November," Lieberman said, as quoted by The Jerusalem Post.
The United States provides Israel a $30-billion funding package under a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) the two countries signed in 2008 for a period of 10 years.
In August 2015, Israel called for MOU extension beyond 2017 after the Iran nuclear agreement was reached in July.
In 2016, Israel is set to receive more than $3 billion as part of the current MOU, a portion of which goes for Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system.
