UAE envoy ridiculed Saudi leadership in leaked emails

DUBAI: The United Arab Emirates ambassador to the United States, Yousef al-Otaiba, has found himself in the spotlight for the wrong reasons.

According to news published by Al Jazeera, Otaiba in a series of leaked emails, reportedly stolen by hacking group GlobalLeaks, has called Saudi Arabia’s leadership “f***in coo coo.”

In a 2008 email chain with his wife Abeer Shoukry, he wrote: That whole country is f**** coo coo!” taken from the inbox of the UAE‘s ambassador

The report said Otaiba’s message is in reference to a decision by the Saudi government to ban selling red roses on Valentine’s Day. “They’re just so stupid… I’m sure Red roses are now being sold on the black market for extortionately high prices. They should’v banned heart-shaped chocolate as well,” read the email.

“In another email taken from the inbox of the UAE’s ambassador, Otaiba wrote that Abu Dhabi has warred for 200 years with the Saudis over Wahhabism and that the Emiratis had more ‘bad history’ with Saudi Arabia than anyone else. In a third, he revealed that now was the time when the Emiratis could get ‘the most results we can ever get out of Saudi’,” Middle East Eye reported.

 

Courtesy: Middle East Eye

The emails, however, show Otaiba suggests that Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman can lead to better relations with the UAE.

He had previously said “with MBS (Mohammed bin Salman), we see a genuine change. And that’s why we’re excited. We finally see hope there and we need it to succeed.”

Otaiba hailed Mohammed bin Salman as being “on a mission to make the Saudi government more efficient.”

The UAE ambassador is a prominent figure in the US. He has participated in Pentagon strategy meetings, according to Al Jazeera.