AFP, LONDON: Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Britain criticised Monday the breaching of “mutual respect” between the two countries, adding that the Gulf kingdom “will not be lectured to by anyone”.
The envoy’s comments come after Britain this month cancelled a bid to provide training to Saudi Arabia’s penal system, as criticism mounts over the absolute monarchy’s human rights record.
Saudi Ambassador Mohammed Bin Nawaf Bin Abdulaziz spoke of his country’s economic importance to Britain, and of the value of Saudi cooperation on security matters. “We want this relationship to continue, but we will not be lectured to by anyone,” Abdulaziz wrote in an opinion piece in Britain’s Daily Telegraph newspaper.