KUWAIT, July 25 (Reuters) - The United States has withdrawn a controversial offer worth at least $450 million to sell Kuwait Paladin howitzer guns, politicians and diplomats said on Tuesday.
"The Paladin offer has been withdrawn by the United States and the deal is no longer valid," liberal Kuwaiti MP Abdullah al-Naibari told Reuters.
The U.S. embassy later said in a statement sent to Reuters:
"The U.S. government's recent decision to withdraw the Paladin letter of offer and acceptance (LOA) signed by Kuwait in November 1998 is based on a routine U.S. procedural requirement which calls for a review and revalidation of the original offered prices for Paladin."
Several members of Kuwait's parliament have repeatedly launched attacks against what they said was inferior and "scrap" equipment and described the Paladin deal as "suspicious."
The U.S. statement did not say if and when a new offer would be made. The main contenders for two battalions of howitzer guns are the British Desert AS90 and the South African G-6.
((Ashraf Fouad, Kuwait newsroom, +965 963 8066))
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