Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

UAE

UAE recalls ambassador over human rights row

The United Arab Emirates confirmed on Wednesday that the country has recalled its ambassador to Sweden, citing Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallström's public criticism of its neighbour Saudi Arabia.

Published: 18 March 2015 17:29 CET
UAE recalls ambassador over human rights row
Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallström. Photo: Claudio Bresciani/TT

The Foreign Minister of the United Arab Emirates Anwar Mohammed Gargash said in a statement that the decision to recall its ambassador Sultan Rashed Alkaitoob had been taken because of Wallström's "strong statements against Saudi Arabia and its judicial system".

He added that "these statements violate the principle of sovereignty upon which the normal relations between countries are based".

The Swedish ambassador was also called to the foreign ministry in the UAE to receive a formal criticism of the Swedish minister's comments.

"We regret this of course, our relations to the UAE are good and we want to cultivate and develop them," Wallström's press secretary Erik Boman told Swedish tabloid Aftonbladet.

READ MORE: Swedish firms fear losing Arab business

Following Saudi Arabia's decision to recall its ambassador a week ago, the move is likely to put further pressure on Sweden's relationship with the Arab League, which has been under strain in recent weeks.

Per Jönsson, a middle east expert based at Sweden's Foreign Policy Institute, told news wire TT on Wednesday: "If this continues, Sweden will be alienated by half the Arab League. It will be the most interesting to see what Egypt does. It's a great and important trade partner."

Sweden’s decided to limit military ties with Saudi Arabia days after accusing the oil rich country of blocking Wallström from speaking at an Arab League meeting. 

Her cancelled remarks, published by the Swedish foreign ministry, did not mention Saudi Arabia but stressed women's and human rights.

However the Arab country has reacted strongly to the Nordic nation’s shifting approach, recalling its ambassador to Sweden and accusing Sweden of "flagrant interference in internal affairs”.

While the move was widely praised by human rights campaigners, as the diplomatic row unfolded, 31 business people submitted a debate article to Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter, warning that a government decision to halt its military agreement with the Saudis could damage Swedish exports to the Arab world.

Wallström has rarely commented on Saudi Arabia but in January she slammed the kingdom's treatment of blogger Raef Badawi, who had been sentenced to 1,000 lashes and 10 years in prison for insulting Islam.

ARMS

‘Scrapping Saudi deal has damaged Sweden’

A sharp debate has broken out in Sweden after the government's decision to end a controversial military co-operation agreement with Saudi Arabia.

Published: 11 March 2015 08:03 CET
'Scrapping Saudi deal has damaged Sweden'
Swedish PM Stefan Löfven made the announcement on a visit to Kiev. Photo: Joakim Goksör/TT

p { margin-bottom: 0.25cm; line-height: 120%; }a:link { }

Sweden has been selling arms to the oil rich nation for decades but the policy has been strongly debated in the Nordic nation and caused divisions within the Social Democrat-Green coalition government.

The leader of the Swedish Left Party Jonas Sjöstedt referred to the news to end the deal as a “victory” on Tuesday and wrote on Twitter: “Credible feminist politics demanded this.”

But former Foreign Minister Carl Bildt issued sharp criticism of the government.

"This is not least about Sweden's credibility as a contractual partner. That credibility is important to a relatively small country like Sweden,” he wrote on his blog.

“What has happened is unfortunate. Sweden has been damaged,” he added.

And Leif Johansson, chairman of Swedish telecommunications giant Ericsson, warned that the decision, which comes hot on the heels of a human rights spat between Sweden and the Arab League, could harm Sweden's trade relations.

He told newspaper Dagens Industri: “If you make yourself the enemy of the Arab League it could cause very great damage. But we don't know how this will play out until after a few years, it depends completely on how we manage to patch up our relations with these countries.”

But Saudi Arabia researcher Thord Janson at Gothenburg University said he did not think the scrapped deal would have a long term effect on Swedish trade.

"I think that the Saudis feel that they have made their point and that they will want to return to normal conditions as soon as possible," he told newspaper Expressen.

The announcement by Prime Minister Stefan Löfven came late on Tuesday, following a spat between Sweden, Saudi Arabia and the Arab League over human rights violations.

Foreign Minister Margot Wallström said on Monday that Saudi officials had stopped her from making her opening address to an Arab League meeting in Cairo due to her stance on human rights.

“The ministers have voiced their condemnation and astonishment at the issuance of such statements that are incompatible with the fact that the Constitution of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is based on Sharia,” read a statement issued by Arab League ministers following their meeting in Cairo.

Wallström's press secretary Erik Boman told The Local on Tuesday that the statement “should be interpreted as a way of Saudi Arabia trying to save face.”

“It is one of very many statements on different issues released by the Arab League after a meeting – by tradition they do that kind of thing,” he added.

Wallström has rarely commented on Saudi Arabia but in January she slammed the kingdom's treatment of blogger Raef Badawi, who had been sentenced to 1,000 lashes and 10 years in prison for insulting Islam.
SHOW COMMENTS