German Chancellor Angela Merkel gives a statement after leadership meeting at the CDU headquarters in Berlin, Germany, October 21, 2018. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany will not export arms to Saudi Arabia while the current uncertainty over the fate of journalist Jamal Khashoggi persists, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Sunday.

Campaigning for her party in a regional election, Merkel repeated to a news conference her earlier condemnation of Khashoggi’s killing, which Saudi Arabia admitted had taken place inside its consulate in Istanbul.

“First, we condemn this act in the strongest terms,” she said. “Second, there is an urgent need to clarify what happened - we are far from this having been cleared up and those responsible held to account ... As far as arms exports are concerned, those can’t take place in the current circumstances.”