JEDDAH: Saudi
Arabia has declared the ambassador of Canada persona non grata and ordered him
to leave in 24 hours, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Monday.
The Kingdom is also recalling its ambassador to Ottawa
and that it is freezing all new business and investment transactions with
Canada "while retaining its right
to take further action," the ministry said in a statement carried by the
official Saudi Press Agency (SPA).
The ministry said it has told the Canadian foreign
minister and embassy in Riyadh of its objection to their interference in the
case of "civil society activists" who were arrested in the Kingdom.
Canada has been pressing the Kingdom to release them immediately.
"This negative and surprising position from Canada
is totally false" and that the arrests were done by the competent
authority, the Public Prosecutor's Office, in accordance with the law, the
statement said. "The legitimate rights (of those arrested) have not been
denied and they were provided with all guarantees during the investigation and
trial stages," the statement said.
The ministry also affirmed that the Canadian position
"is an explicit and clear interference in the internal affairs of the
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and contrary to the most basic international norms and
all the charters that govern relations between countries."
"It is blatant and unacceptable transgression
against the Kingdom's regulations and procedures and in violation of the
judicial authority in the Kingdom. In its long history, Saudi Arabia has not
and will not accept intervention in its internal affairs or impose dictates on
it from any country.
"The Canadian position is an attack on Saudi Arabia
that requires a firm stance towards it. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia expresses
its absolute and categorical rejection of the position of the Canadian
government," it said.
The Saudi statement said it confirmed its commitment to
refrain from intervening in the internal matters of other countries, including
Canada, and in return rejected any intervention in its domestic affairs and
internal relations with its citizens.
“Any further step from the Canadian side in that
direction will be considered as acknowledgment of our right to interfere in the
Canadian domestic affairs,” the statement said.
In 2014, the Canadian unit of US weapons maker General
Dynamics Corp. won a contract worth up to $13 billion to build light-armored
vehicles for Saudi Arabia, in what Ottawa said at the time was the largest
advanced manufacturing export win in Canadian history.
Canadian foreign ministry officials were not available
for an immediate comment on Sunday.