UK premier invites Saudi crown prince for visit amid Yemen war crimes

British Prime Minister Theresa May has invited Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to visit the UK next year amid the international outcry over Riyadh’s ongoing war crimes in Yemen.

The Middle East Eye news portal cited a spokesperson for May’s office as saying on Thursday that the British premier discussed the 2018 trip with the crown prince and Saudi King Salman in a phone call on Wednesday, but the exact date for the visit has not been confirmed yet.

During the phone conversation, May praised Saudi Arabia’s “restraint” over a retaliatory missile attack on Tuesday by Yemeni Houthi Ansarullah fighters on Riyadh.

May’s praise comes a day after international aid organization Oxfam lashed out at Riyadh and its allies for “pushing Yemen towards apocalypse.”

Oxfam’s chief executive Mark Goldring said on Wednesday that the UK and the US, which have armed the Saudi-led coalition, are responsible for the humanitarian catastrophe caused by the war and Saudi Arabia’s blockade of the impoverished nation.