Saudi freezes Canada ties

Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al Jubeir yesterday criticised Canada’s calls to free arrested civil society activists as a position built on “misleading” information, and said his country would not tolerate any interference in its own affairs. “The kingdom of Saudi Arabia does not interfere in the internal affairs of other states and it won’t accept any attempt to interfere in our internal affairs,” Jubeir said in remarks on his Twitter account. “We deal with that with all firmness.” Describing Canada’s position was puzzling, he said that those held in Saudi Arabia were “subject to Saudi legal laws that guarantees their rights”. Riyadh yesterday recalled its ambassador from Canada and gave the Canadian ambassador 24 hours to leave. The Saudi government also banned new trade with Canada, although it was unclear if it would affect existing annual Saudi-Canadian trade of nearly $4 billion and a $13bn defence contract.