US To Hold Talks In Saudi Arabia On Normalising Ties With Israel (file image@KSAmofaEN)
Jake Sullivan, White House national security adviser plans to visit Saudi Arabia this week. The travel is to hold talks with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman amidst Washington’s push for progress in normalising ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia. The talks of normalisation has been “put on ice” immediately after the Israel-Palestine war started on October 7th.
However, despite the Israeli genocidal bombing in Gaza, conversation regarding the normalisation resumed in recent months. Reportedly, Sullivan plans to talk with Muhammed bin Salman to check in on the issue but did not expect a major breakthrough. An unnamed US official told news agency Reuters that Sullivan would consult number of matters. The official said, “he (Sullivan) has not been to Saudi Arabia in some time and there’s lots to discuss”.
On March 21, US Secretary General Antony Blinken said Saudi Arabia and United States made a “good progress” in talks on normalisation ties, without providing a timeline for concluding a deal. Media report suggests that Saudi Arabia wants to clinch a mutual defence pact with America and get support for civil nuclear program.
During a fundraiser event in New York with former President Barak Obama, the US President Joe Biden said Saudi is prepared to “fully recognise Israel”. He said, “I won”t go into detail now. But look, I”ve been working with the Saudis. They are prepared to fully recognise Israel”.
Days following October 7th, the Saudi Arabia has explicitly stated that in order to advance the normalisation process with Israel, the Gaza war must cease and Israeli government should pledge unwavering support for the two-state solution.
The two-state solution guarantees a separate state for Palestinians bereft of any forms of Israeli occupation. Palestinians wants a that include Gaza, Israeli-occupied West Bank and annexed East Jerusalem. However, as Israeli settlement grows across these occupied regions, the problem would only exacerbate with possible unending conflicts in West Asia if left unresolved.
