Boris Johnson’s Saudi comments ‘not UK government position’

UK prime minister Theresa May distances herself from comments made by her foreign secretary Boris Johnson, who accused Saudi Arabia along with Iran of pursuing “proxy wars” in the region.

Britain's Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson attends during the Rome MED Mediterranean Dialogues forum in Rome, Italy December 1, 2016. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi/Files

LONDON // UK prime minister Theresa May distanced herself on Thursday from comments made by her foreign secretary Boris Johnson, who accused Saudi Arabia along with Iran of pursuing “proxy wars” in the region.

Mr Johnson was recorded at a conference in Rome last week saying Saudi Arabia, one of Britain’s most important allies and a major customer for UK arms exports, has joined Iran in “puppeteering and playing proxy wars” in the Middle East. The comments, published by the Guardian newspaper, do not reflect government policy, Ms May’s spokeswoman Helen Bower said.

“The prime minister has been in the region this week and met with the king of Saudi Arabia and set out very clearly the government’s view on our relationship with Saudi Arabia, which is that it’s a vital partner for the United Kingdom,” Ms Bower said in London. Mr Johnson’s comments “are the foreign secretary’s views, they are not the government’s position.”

The remarks emerged as Ms May returned from a meeting of the GCC in Bahrain, where she sought to boost trade ties as Britain prepares to leave the European Union.

During the summit, which ended on Wednesday, Britain and Gulf states announced a strategic partnership to enhance cooperation across a swathe of security, military and regional political interests, as well as increased trade.

Ms May also pledged that they would work together to counter Iran’s “destabilising activities” in the region.

A British parliamentary report published earlier this year found that Saudi Arabia accounted for almost £3 billion (Dh13.97bn), or nearly 40 per cent, of UK arms sales in the nine months through to the end of December 2015.

Ms May supports the Saudi-led coalition working with the internationally-recognised Yemeni government to end the country’s “appalling” civil war, Ms Bower said. Mr Johnson will be able to express that position during a visit to Saudi Arabia on Sunday, she said.

“The foreign secretary will be in the region this weekend, he’ll have meetings with senior representatives and have the opportunity to set out the government position,” Ms Bower said. “We are supporting the Saudi-led coalition because we believe it’s important that there’s a legitimate government able to operate in Yemen, not Houthi rebels that are being backed by other countries.”

The UK, which sees Iran as a destabilising force in the region, has pursued the relationship with Saudi Arabia as part of efforts to counter terrorism and promote security. Leader of the House of Commons David Lidington, a former foreign office minister, MPs on Thursday that Saudi Arabia’s actions have protected Britons.

“People in this country are safer against terrorism because of the close cooperation that we have with Saudi Arabia and with the other states of the Gulf Cooperation Council,” Mr Lidington said

* Bloomberg