Saudi Crown Prince MBS will not attend G7 Summit in Canada

By Andrew Mills

DUBAI (Reuters) -Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia's crown prince and de facto leader, will not attend next week's Group of Seven summit in Canada, a senior diplomat briefed on plans told Reuters on Thursday.

The crown prince, widely known as MBS, did not give a reason for declining Canada's invitation to the annual gathering, the diplomat said.

Saudi Arabia is not a G7 member but can be invited as a guest to its annual gathering, which will be held this year in Kananaskis in the Canadian Rockies, from June 15-17.

MBS has rarely travelled internationally in recent years, and declined an invitation to the G7 Summit in Italy last year.

He postponed a planned trip to Japan last year, citing concerns over the health of his father, King Salman.

Saudi Arabia's government media office did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment.

Canada's Globe and Mail newspaper, which first reported that MBS would not join this year's gathering, said the development may ease tensions within Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's Liberal party, where some members of parliament were upset that an invitation had been extended to MBS.

The Saudi crown prince has come under heavy criticism for his country's human rights record. The kingdom denies accusations of human rights abuses.

Leaders from Ukraine, Mexico, India, Australia, South Africa, South Korea and Brazil are expected to join for parts of the G7 Summit. U.S. President Donald Trump will also be in attendance.

(Reporting and writing by Andrew Mills, additional reporting by Pesha Magid, editing by Ed Osmond)

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