Saudi Arabia foreign minister meets German ambassador in fresh sign of thaw
DUBAI (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir met with German Ambassador Joerg Ranau on Thursday, state news agency SPA said on Thursday, in another sign the countries are turning the page on a diplomatic spat. A row between the two countries erupted last November when Germany's foreign minister at the time, Sigmar Gabriel, condemned "adventurism" in the Middle East, in comments that were widely seen as an attack on increasingly assertive Saudi policies, notably in Yemen. The comments, which aggravated already tense relations caused by a moratorium on German arms exports to Saudi Arabia, led Riyadh to withdraw its ambassador and freeze out German companies, particularly in the lucrative healthcare sector. The Saudi Ambassador returned to Berlin earlier this month. (Reporting By Stephen Kalin, Writing By Maha El Dahan, Editing by William Maclean)
