Saudi Arabia has recalled its ambassador to Sweden after the scrapping of the 10-year weapons deal between the two countries.

The move reflects  the deepening diplomatic row between the two countries, which has been recently fueled Saudi's move to block a human rights speech by Sweden's Foreign Minister. As a result, Saudi ambassador to Sweden Ibrahim Bin Saal Al-Ibrahim is set to fly back to Riyadh.

Like Us on Facebook

Swedish Foreign Ministry spokesperson Gabriel Wernstedt says Saudi Arabia is angered by Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstroem's earlier criticisms about the kingdom's human rights record.

On Monday, at a meeting of the Arab League in Cairo, Egypt, Wallstrom complained that Saudi Arabia had prevented her from speaking about democracy and women's rights.

Just two months ago, she had also criticized Saudi Arabia for the having punished Saudi Arabian blogger Raef Badawi for reportedly insulting Islam.

Badawi was sentenced to 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes.

Wallstroem believes the penalty is "medieval."

On Tuesday, Arab foreign ministers retaliated, saying there were astonished by Wallstroem's pronouncements, which were inappropriate, since the decision on Badawi was based on the Sharia law.

"Sharia has guaranteed human rights and people's lives, possessions, honor and dignity," the ministers said, branding Wallstroem's comments as irresponsible and unacceptable.

The Arab diplomats' condemnation of the Swedish Prime minister's remarks was issued at the closing of the Arab League meeting.

For its part, the Saudi Foreign Ministry considered Swedish foreign minister's statements as a "blatant interference" in Saudi's internal affairs.

Earlier, the Arab ministers had invited Wallstroem as honorary guest, in recognition of Sweden's move to recognize Palestine in October. But her opening address, which focused on human rights and the rights of women, was cancelled.

The Swedish Foreign Ministry made up for the lost opportunity by printing the piece in its publication. Then, Sweden showed its support for its envoy.

A day after Wallstroem was prevented from delivering her remarks in Cairo, Sweden promptly struck down its military cooperation deal with Saudi. Wallstroem hailed her government's action.

"I feel that when I speak about democracy and human rights, I do it with the support of the Swedish people," she said.

The contract between Saudi and Sweden entails the trading of military equipment, logistics, technology and training. It was sealed in 2005 and renewed in 2010.

Even before the gap between Saudi and Sweden widened, it seemed as if the deal was already getting harder for the Swedish government to maintain and uphold.

The weapons deal had become a contentious issue within the halls of the Swedish government, as there were revelations that it was sealed only after Sweden had secretly helped Saudi build a weapons factory.

TagsSweden, weapons deal, ambassador