(ANSA) - BERLIN - German foreign minister Heiko Maas said that Germany will resume exporting arms to Saudi Arabia only when significant steps forward in the peace process are taken in Yemen. "We do not export arms to Saudi Arabia and future decisions will depend on how the Yemeni conflict will evolve", the minister said on the sidelines of a meeting with his British counterpart Jeremy Hunt in Berlin. The crisis in Yemen, where a Saudi-led coalition has been fighting against Houthi Shiite rebels since 2015, and the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul has led Germany to suspend exports to the Gulf state. According to the German weekly Der Spiegel, the British foreign secreatry wrote a letter to Maas urging him to soften the ban on exports that was harming British companies. Urged to comment on this letter at a press conference, the British foreign secretary said that "the strategic relationship between Great Britain and Saudi Arabia is what allows us to have a great influence in moving forward the peace process in Yemen" and "we must continue the strategic relationship if we want to make sure there is a European voice at the peace table", said Hunt. No mention was made by the foreign secretary of the killing of Khashoggi, attributed to the Saudi secret services. (ANSA).