The new Saudi ambassador in Cairo, Ahmed Abdel Aziz al-Qattan, on Thursday denied that the Saudi leadership had pressured the Egyptian Supreme Council of the Armed Forces not to prosecute ousted president Hosni Mubarak.
Arab press reports had pointed to threats made by the Saudi leadership to Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, that the kingdom would withdraw its assets, halt investment in Egypt and expel Egyptian workers from Saudi Arabia if Mubarak was brought to trial.
“I was present at a recent meeting between Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal and Tantawi, and this issue was not addressed,” he said.
King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz had expressed support for Mubarak during the Egyptian revolution, and called the demonstrators an “infiltrated minority”.
The reports indicated that the reason for the alleged pressure exerted by Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states stems from loyalty to Mubarak, who had good relations with the leaders of those countries.
