Canada seeks to cool Saudi dispute
OTTAWA — Canada plans to seek help from the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom to defuse an escalating dispute with Saudi Arabia, sources said on Tuesday, but close ally the United States made clear it would not get involved.
The Saudi government on Sunday recalled its ambassador to Ottawa, barred Canada’s envoy from returning and placed a ban on new trade, denouncing Canada for urging the release of jailed activists. Riyadh accused Ottawa on Tuesday of interfering in its internal affairs.
One well-placed source said the government of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau planned to reach out to the UAE.
“The key is to work with allies and friends in the region to cool things down, which can happen quickly,” said the source, who declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the situation.
Another source said Canada would also seek help from Britain. The British government on Tuesday urged the two nations to show restraint.
The US, traditionally one of Canada’s most important friends, stayed on the sidelines. US President Donald Trump — who criticized Trudeau after a Group of Seven summit in June — has forged tighter ties with Riyadh.
“Both sides need to diplomatically resolve this together. We can’t do it for them; they need to resolve it together,” US State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said.
The dispute looks set to damage what is a modest bilateral trade relationship worth nearly $4 billion a year. Canadian exports to Saudi Arabia totaled about $1.12 billion in 2017, or 0.2 percent of the total value of Canadian exports.
Canada had been eager to boost investment and exports to Saudi Arabia as the kingdom diversifies its economy.
Defense contract
Canada said it does not know what will happen to a $13 billion defense contract to sell Canadian-made General Dynamics Corp armored vehicles to Saudi Arabia.
European traders said the main Saudi wheat-buying agency had told grains exporters it will no longer accept Canadian-origin wheat and barley.
The clash with the Saudis is not the first time Canada risked losing major business over its “rights first” diplomacy.
Earlier this year, the Philippines canceled a defense contract for 14 Canadian helicopters after Trudeau’s government ordered a review of the rights record in the Asian country.
In addition to the diplomatic rupture, Saudi Arabia also suspended scholarships for more than 15,000 Saudi students in Canada with plans to relocate them to other countries, and the state airline Saudia suspended flights to Toronto.
The first Canadian source said Ottawa had no regrets about speaking out on human rights in Saudi Arabia. Canada’s ambassador, Dennis Horak, is not in Riyadh. The source said Saudi authorities were aware Horak was due to start a new posting next month.