Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Egypt, Ahmed Abdelaziz Qatan, denied on the Al-Arabiya news channel on Tuesday that the kingdom funds Egypt’s Salafist movement, adding that such claims can lead to sectarian strife. Qatan insisted that SA has no links to the Muslim Brotherhood.

“How can Saudi Arabia have spent 40 billion Saudi riyals [roughly $10bn] in Egypt without having such an amount monitored?” exclaimed Qatan. He added that any money given by Saudi Arabia to Egypt goes through legal channels.

The Cairo-based ambassador also denied that SA intends to withdraw its investments from Egypt. Qatan said that such rumours aim at creating tension between the two countries.

Furthermore, he confirmed that SA did nothing to influence the Mubarak trials nor Egypt’s revolution, adding that the Egyptian people alone are capable of starting a revolution.