Saudi relations with Hosni Mubarak ceased after he stepped down from the Egyptian presidency on 11 February, the Saudi ambassador to Cairo has said.
In an interview with Al-Arabiya news channel, Ambassador Ahmed Abdel Aziz Qattan denied Saudi pressure to prevent Mubarak's trial, saying: "Our relations with Cairo are not based on Mubarak's trial."
Reports in Egypt's Al-Akhbar newspaper said Mubarak had been to Tabouk in Saudi Arabia three times after stepping down, but Qattan said, "I guess if Mubarak had been to Saudi Arabia, he wouldn't have returned."
The ambassador also denied reports that Egypt's Salafis were financed with US$4 billion from Saudi Arabia, wondering what Saudi Arabia would get in exchange for the money.
He said the idea that Saudi Arabia hopes to ignite sectarian strife in Egypt is wrong because the two countries' stability is connected.
Translated from the Arabic Edition
