UK government distances itself from minister’s Saudi ‘proxy war’ claims

8 December 2016, 5:43 pm

Edit

British Prime Minister Theresa May distances her goverment from claims by Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson that UK ally Saudi Arabia is engaging in “proxy wars” in the Middle East and says this does not represent the country’s position.

May’s comments come shortly after the British media airs footage of Johnson telling a conference last week that there is no sufficiently strong leadership in the Middle East willing to reach out beyond the Sunni-Shia divide, and “that’s why you’ve got… Saudis, Iran, everybody, moving in and puppeteering and playing proxy wars.”

May’s spokeswoman Helen Bower says the remarks are Johnson’s own views and do not reflect British policy on Saudi Arabia and its role in the region.

— AP