Canada PM Says Will Press Saudi Arabia on Rights, Offers Olive Branch

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MONTREAL/RIYADH—Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Aug. 8 said he would keep pressing Saudi Arabia on civil liberties amid a major diplomatic dispute but also offered an apparent olive branch, saying the kingdom had made some progress on human rights.

Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir—infuriated by Canada’s demand last week that jailed rights activists be released immediately—said earlier on Wednesday, Aug. 8, that there was no room for mediation, adding that Ottawa knew what it needed to do to “fix its big mistake.”