Saudi Arabia blasts Russian comments on human rights

Riyadh, Asharq Al-Awsat – Saudi Arabia yesterday condemned comments by Russia’s human rights envoy on the situation in the kingdom as “hostile” and an unjustified interference in the kingdom’s internal affairs, the Saudi state news agency (SPA) reported.

According to the statement, an official source at the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs denounced strongly and is greatly astonished by a statement issued by the Commissioner of the Russian Foreign Ministry for Human Rights concerning the Kingdom.

The statement described the comments by the Russian official as, “unjustified blatant interference, and is contrary to political and diplomatic principles and rules.”

The official source pointed out to the Russian official that the Kingdom has been keen on respecting the rules of legitimacy and sovereignty and independence of States, and it has distanced itself from interfering in their internal affairs, including the affairs of Russia, and its policies in dealing with unrest within its borders, which has claimed the lives of many victims.

The agency said the government of Saudi Arabia condemned such comments as “hostile”.

“The kingdom hopes that this strange comment was not intended to divert attention from the savage and ugly massacres that the Syrian regime is practising against its own people with support and backing from known parties that are obstructing any honest effort to end the bloodshed of the Syrian people.”

Russia has blocked two U.N. Security Council moves to press Assad to end his crackdown. Saudi Arabia has been in the forefront of Arab countries backing the rebels.