Germany says not approving any defence exports to Russia

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany has decided to suspend approval of all defence-related exports to Russia in light of the West's diplomatic showdown with Moscow over Ukraine, a spokesman for the economy ministry said on Friday. Earlier this week, the government ordered defence contractor Rheinmetall to halt delivery of combat simulation gear to Russia. The ministry spokesman said this was a "one-off" case, but that future deals would also be blocked. "The (Rheinmetall) case that you are talking about is a one-off case. Nevertheless it is true that given the current situation in Russia, we are not approving any exports of defence goods to this country at the moment," the spokesman said. (Reporting by Stephen Brown; Writing by Noah Barkin)