Germany, the world's fifth-largest arms exporter, plans to revise its rules on arms exports to make it easier to arm democracies like Ukraine and harder to sell weapons to autocracies, Der Spiegel reported on Friday.
The new guidelines, which the magazine said were being drawn up by the Economy Ministry, come as Germany faces criticism from the opposition, allies and Kyiv over delays in supplying heavy weapons to Ukraine for its fight against Russia.
The magazine said the new guidelines, which are due to be incorporated into a new arms exports law, will focus on the receiving country's concrete actions in domestic and foreign policy, not on the broader question of whether those weapons might be used to violate human rights.
