Prime Minister Boris Johnson has promised to raise human rights issues when he meets with Gulf leaders to discuss ending reliance on Russian oil and gas following the invasion of Ukraine.
On Wednesday, he will visit Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to discuss energy security and other issues. He stated that a global coalition is required to “to deal with the new reality we face”
However, critics have expressed concerns about the countries’ human rights records.
Saudi Arabia executed 81 men in one day last weekend, and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has been linked to the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.
“going cap in hand from dictator to dictator is not an energy strategy” Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said.
Mr Khashoggi’s fiancee, Hatice Cengiz, told the BBC that Mr Johnson should not be “doing deals” with Crown Prince Salman unless he insists on “on the truth and justice for Jamal’s murder”
Labour’s deputy leader, Angela Rayner, told MPs that Mr Johnson was on a “a begging mission to the Saudi prince” because he had failed to invest in domestic energy.
However, Mr Johnson stated that if Western countries want to “avoid being blackmailed” by Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, they must abandon the use of his country’s fossil fuels and seek alternative partnerships.
When asked about working with a government that has a questionable record on human rights, the prime minister stated, “I’ve raised all those issues many, many times – since I was foreign secretary and beyond and I’ll raise them all again today.”
He cited Saudi Arabia’s announcement of a £1 billion investment in green aviation fuel in the UK as an example of “the kind of thing we want to encourage”
That doesn’t mean “we can’t stick to our principles and raise those issues that we all care about” he adds.
Mr Johnson arrived at Abu Dhabi International Airport in the United Arab Emirates, where he was greeted by British Ambassador to the UAE Patrick Moody.
Before meeting Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed, he was led through a guard of honour. Mr Johnson then traveled to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to meet with Crown Prince Salman.