Saudi Crown Prince Shelved London Visit, Prior to Hosting Putin - Reports

Riyadh froze plans for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's visit to the UK, given the scheduling proximity to President Putin's official trip to Saudi Arabia, the Financial Times reported on Friday, citing London officials.

According to the publication, British and Saudi officials spent months negotiating the visit, with London settling on December 3 as a feasible date. However, last week, the preliminary plan was pushed further down the road due to Vladimir Putin’s state visit.

“Saudi Arabia shelved plans for Mohammed bin Salman to visit London in the past few days, according to UK officials, shortly before the crown prince hosted Vladimir Putin in Riyadh,” the article reads.

Conservative MPs then said that the rescheduling bin Salman’s trip, nearly concurrent with Putin’s visit to Riyadh, called into question the strength of the British-Saudi ties.

In turn, Saudi officials stated that “scheduling issues had long complicated the Saudi royal’s plans to visit the UK this year and dismissed any connection between the delay and his hosting Putin in Riyadh”.

In a conversation with the newspaper, Sir Iain Duncan Smith, a former Tory leader (UK’s Conservative Party), called the situation a "snub".

In response to this assessment, Prince Khalid bin Bandar, Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to London, commented that “anyone familiar with the UK-Saudi relationship will know that the suggestion of a snub is nonsense”.

Robert Courts, a senior Tory MP, maintained that the delay was of concern since “it suggests a UK diplomatic failure in the face of a co-ordinated diplomatic offensive by Putin”.

“The UK should urgently review the resources and strategy behind its foreign and defense policy to prevent the slide of states towards our strategic competitors,” he maintained.

The so-called shadow Foreign Secretary David Lammy emphasized that this issue currently under discussion is a sign that “Britain’s influence is tumbling on the global stage” under Rishi Sunak’s premiership.

“It is not for the UK to comment on the diplomatic engagements of other countries,” the UK Foreign Office responded.

On November 6, President Vladimir Putin embarked on a state visit to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Following the high-profile meeting between the Russian head of state and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the two made a joint statement where the parties agreed to boost bilateral cooperation.

The Russian leader thanked the Saudi Prince for the invitation and suggested an official follow-up visit, hosted in Moscow.