UAE Ambassador: 'Whole of Saudi Arabia is cuckoo'

In one of the messages, reportedly stolen by hacking group GlobalLeaks, Yousef Otaiba wrote: “That whole country is fuckin coo coo!”

In another, sent to his Egyptian wife, Abeer Shoukry, the UAE ambassador mocked Saudi Arabia’s decision to ban red roses on Valentine’s Day.

In the email, purportedly written by Mr Otaiba, he wrote: “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.”

In another email to The New York Times columnist Tom Friedman, the Emirati ambassador wrote, "Abu Dhabi fought 200 years of wars with Saudi over Wahhabism. We have more bad history with Saudi than anyone."

Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed regards himself as Mohammed bin Salman's mentor and the two have been known to hold as many as three meetings a month.

According to the online news portal the Middle East Eye, Otaiba helped nurture high-level contacts between the young Saudi crown prince, known in diplomatic circles by his initials as MBS, and US President Donald Trump.

Previously, Otaiba had written to New York Times columnist Tom Friedman, saying that “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.”


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