Johnson's Saudi comments were 'misconstrued'
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson had said the Saudis were 'puppeteering and playing proxy wars' in the Middle East.
Sunday 11 December 2016 20:38, UK
Boris Johnson has been given support from his Saudi Arabian counterpart, who claimed the Foreign Secretary's words on the Saudis' actions in the Middle East were "misconstrued".
The row began earlier this month after a video of Mr Johnson speaking at a conference in Rome showed him blaming a lack of strong leadership for leaving politicians in the Middle East "twisting and abusing religion and different strains of the same religion to further their own political objectives".
He was also recorded saying: "You've got the Saudis, Iran, everybody, moving in and puppeteering and playing proxy wars."
His comments, revealed by The Guardian, go against established protocol where diplomats do not publicly criticise British allies and he was slapped down by the Government.
At a press conference after meetings with King Salman and Saudi ministers on Sunday, however, Mr Johnson said he believed "in a candour in our relationship".
Saudi foreign affairs minister Adel al-Jubeir said Mr Johnson's comments were "misconstrued or taken out of context".
"I believe that Britain's position and Boris's position with regards to the relationship with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been very consistent and very strong.
"We've had many meetings, he has been consistent and unwavering in his support of the relationship and I believe that this is consistent with Britain's policy."
He added: "We saw that in the statements by the Prime Minister in Bahrain, we saw that by the statements of the Foreign Secretary in Bahrain and we saw that reflected in the statement by the Foreign Office with regards to the comments that were published in the media and that I do not believe reflect what was actually said."
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Earlier, Mr Johnson had said that the relationship between Britain and Saudi Arabia was "not just a relationship based on trade or security, it's a relationship between peoples".
He added: "I should just stress as far as Yemen is concerned, Britain supports the Saudi-led campaign to restore the legitimate government and we have continued our dialogue on the conduct of this operation, a detailed dialogue.
"Of course, we continue - like everybody in this room and around the world - to have a deep concern for the suffering of the people of Yemen."
Thousands of Yemenis have been killed in the conflict between the internationally-recognised government of Yemen and the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels.