Canadian, Saudi Officials To Meet At UN To Discuss Row Over Rights Abuses - Freeland

Officials from Canada and Saudi Arabia will meet on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly this week to discuss the diplomatic row between their two countries over allegations of human rights abuses in the kingdom, Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said on Tuesday.

NEW YORK (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 25th September, 2018) Officials from Canada and Saudi Arabia will meet on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly this week to discuss the diplomatic row between their two countries over allegations of human rights abuses in the kingdom, Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said on Tuesday.

"We are going to meet in New York, we are hoping to meet and I think that's a good thing," Freeland said during remarks at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York.

Freeland said she and Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubair had been in close contact all summer after the diplomatic crisis erupted.

Freeland emphasized that while Canada has a long-standing relationship with Saudi Arabia, Ottawa will "always stand up for human rights."

Saudi Arabia broke off diplomatic relations with Canada in August after Ottowa called for the release of women's rights activists who have been detained in the kingdom, including Samar Badawi, the sister of Saudi opposition activist Raif Badawi.