UNITED NATIONS – Saudi Arabia s foreign minister has hit out againstCanada over ongoing spat between the two states.
He asked Canada to apologise for demanding the release of Saudi women srights activists and stop treating the kingdom as “a banana republic” if itwanted to resolve a diplomatic dispute between the two countries.
In August, Saudi Arabia froze new trade with Canada, blocked grain imports,expelled Canada s ambassador and ordered all Saudi students home afterOttawa called for the release of activists detained for urging more rightsfor women.
Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said on Tuesday she hoped tomeet with her Saudi counterpart Adel al-Jubeir this week on the sidelinesof the United Nations General Assembly.
“It is outrageous from our perspective that a country will sit there andlecture us and make demands … We demand the immediate release andindependence of Quebec, granting of equal rights to Canadian Indians. Whaton earth are you talking about?,” al-Jubeir said at the Council on ForeignRelations in New York on Wednesday night.