Crisis in relations between Stockholm and Riyadh was cemented when Sweden ended an arms agreement with Riyadh Saudi Arabia reinstated its ambassador to Sweden on Friday after Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofen apologized, Saudi news channel Al Arabiya reported Saturday. Lofen is reported to have apologized for comments which offended the kingdom but added that he hoped Saudi Arabia would understand Sweden's honest concerns regarding human rights. Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf who had offered the government his help in defusing tensions, spoke to Saudi King Salman about the strong relations between the two countries, Al Arabiya reported. Sweden had been seeking to quell an unprecedented diplomatic spat over human rights with Saudi Arabia which saw ambassadors recalled and arms sales cancelled, drawing comparisons with Denmark's Mohammed cartoons controversy. Stockholm's relations with Riyadh had nosedived since leftist Foreign Minister Margot Wallstroem told parliament in a February speech the oil-rich state was a "dictatorship" that violated women's rights and whipped bloggers. Sweden's government announced a "feminist" foreign policy when it took power in September. Rights groups accuse Saudi Arabia of meting out brutal punishments to dissidents and religious minorities, and excluding women from most areas of public life. The crisis in relations between Stockholm and Riyadh was cemented earlier this month when Sweden ended an arms agreement with Riyadh, despite warnings from business leaders about the potential impact on exports to the Gulf state, worth about $1.3 billion (1.2 billion euros). - 'Moral superpower' - A storm of criticism ensued from the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. The top religious authority in Saudi Arabia accused Sweden of disrespecting Islam and sharia law, which forms the basis of the Saudi legal system, while the foreign ministry accused Stockholm of "flagrant interference". Saudi Arabia blocked a planned speech by Wallstroem at the Arab League, halted business visas for Swedes and recalled its ambassador from Stockholm in protest. The UAE, a close Saudi ally, also recalled its ambassador. Wallstroem said her comments -- including calling Saudi Arabia's whipping of dissident blogger Raif Badawi in January "medieval" -- were never directed against Islam for which she had "the greatest respect". But Neuding said the minister was trying to boost Sweden's image as a "moral superpower". "If you say that Saudi laws are medieval and those are sharia laws then the obvious response is 'do you have something against Islam?' And she was not prepared for that," she said. Others argue that Wallstroem -- who has three decades of political experience, including a decade as European commissioner -- has revived the ideological style of assassinated prime minister Olof Palme, famed for his anti-US criticism of the Vietnam War in the 1960s. "Many asked what a feminist foreign policy would mean in practice and I believe this is an example... (that) we will criticise violations of human rights, of women's rights," said Ann-Marie Ekengren, a professor of international politics at Gothenburg University. Source: i24 news
