Konstantin Dolgov expressed “great concern” for the situation in the Eastern province of Saudi Arabia  which resulted in two people getting killed and twenty wounded in what Dolgov described as clashes in eastern Saudi Arabia last Sunday triggered by the arrest of a Shiite cleric.

”From our point of view, there is a risk that these events will make a negative influence on the stability and consent of civil society in Saudi Arabia. We expect that the authorities of the Kingdom will undertake all necessary measures to settle the situation in its eastern regions, to avoid conflict and to ensure the observance of conventional human rights, including the right for freedom of expression of opinion, peaceful demonstrations and freedom of associations, as it is prescribed by the law,” Dolgov said according to a statement by the Russian Foreign Ministry website.

According to Saudi media rpeorts, the government of Saudi Arabia condemned such comments as “hostile”.

Saudi Arabia said that minor protests took place after the arrest of a cleric on charges of treason, and after he and a group with him opened fire on police, AFP reported.

The Kingdom’s government added that two men who were killed had been shot by unknown assailants and an investigation into who killed them was underway.

“The Kingdom learned with strong astonishment and surprise about the comment by the Russian Foreign Ministry’s representative on human rights which represents a blatant and unjustified intervention in the internal affairs of the kingdom,” the Saudi news agency reported according to AFP.

“The kingdom hopes that this strange comment was not intended to divert attention from the savage and ugly massacres that the Syrian regime is practising against its own people with support and backing from known parties that are obstructing any honest effort to end the bloodshed of the Syrian people.”

Experts believe that the exchange between Russia and Saudi Arabia may be due to their opposing views on Syria.