German politicians are defending the government's controversial decision to sell tanks to Saudi Arabia under terms of a $2.5 billion armaments contract.

The Saudis want to buy 200 German-made Leopard II main battle tanks built by Krauss-Maffei-Wegmann and Rheinmetall, Heidenheimer Zeitung reported Monday.

Christian Democratic Union foreign policy adviser Roderich Kiesewetter said that, while there was a "lack of transparency" in the proceedings, "national security interests" meant that "it would be harmful to our country when things were revealed that are still in negotiation. We must ensure the security of Israel."

The CDU is the party of German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

The Saudi purchase of German armor would represent a significant diversification of arms purchases by Saudi Arabia, which currently fields about 1,000 main battle tanks of U.S. and French manufacture.

The deal has surprised some CDU officials.

"Normally you'd expect at least Israel would object if Saudi Arabia got a delivery of tanks," CDU member and Arabic affairs expert Joachim Hoerster said. "That was always the case in the past and that's why no arms went there before.

"But the geopolitical situation in the Middle East has evidently changed so much that Israel has no comment on all this -- and that speaks volumes by itself."

German-Saudi relations have been expanded since the first visit of Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder to Saudi Arabia in October 2003.

The Leopard 2A7+ tanks weigh 68 tons and were unveiled to the public during last year's Eurosatory defense industry trade show in Paris.

The German contingent of the U.N. peacekeeping force operated a number of Leopard 2A4s and 2A5s in Kosovo in 1999.

The Leopard 2A7+ is a versatile main battle tank, as it was specifically designed to operate in both low- and high-intensity conflict situations.

The Leopard 2A7+ contains upgraded modular armor, among other things providing all-round protection against RPGs as well as mines, options specifically designed to improve the survivability of the tank in urban operations.

Its munitions handling capabilities have also been upgraded as well as its observation systems.

Germany's Leopard tanks have proven to be one of the country's most sought after arms exports. Purchasers include Austria, Canada, Chile, Denmark, Finland, Greece, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Turkey.

The proposed Saudi sale is taking political overtones, as media reports are beginning to surface about the two munitions companies' past political donations to German progressive political parties, including the CDU, over the past decade.

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