This week, Jake Sullivan will visit Saudi Arabia to meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as part of a resurrected US effort to normalize relations between Riyadh and Tel Aviv.
As part of the US push for progress in normalizing relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan is scheduled to visit Saudi Arabia this week to hold talks with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Following the October 7 attack on southern Israel by Palestinian Hamas fighters and Israel’s following assault of Gaza, normalization talks had been suspended. However, in recent months, talks have restarted.
According to a US official, Sullivan intended to check in on the matter with the crown prince but did not anticipate a significant development.
A second US official stated that Sullivan would provide general consultation on many issues.
The second official stated, “He hasn’t been to Saudi Arabia in a while and there are a lot of things to talk about.”
“Several matters”
Even if talks were hampered by the events of October 7 and Israel’s subsequent invasion of Gaza, Biden emphasized this week that he still believes the Saudi normalization plan is substantial and doable.
I will not elaborate at this time. Look, though, I’ve been collaborating with Saudis. “They are ready to fully acknowledge Israel,” stated Biden last week during a fundraiser in New York alongside former presidents Obama and Clinton.
Without giving a deadline for reaching an agreement, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated on March 21 that the US and Saudi Arabia had made “good progress” in their discussions to normalize relations between the kingdom and Israel.
Saudi Arabia hopes to secure US support for its civil nuclear program and a mutual defense agreement with Washington as part of a plan to normalize relations.
According to media sources, Saudi Arabia has made it clear that in order to move forward with normalizing relations with Israel, the Gaza conflict must end and the Israeli government must make a firm commitment to pursuing a two-state solution.
SOURCE: TRTWORLD
