Saudi Arabia will not have any diplomatic relations with Israel until it recognizes Palestine as an independent state
In response to US interest in Israel’s relationship with Saudi Arabia, Riyadh has counter-stipulated. Saudi Arabia said after White House National Security Council spokesman John Kerby expressed interest in continuing talks on normalizing relations between the two countries.
Saudi Arabia will not have any diplomatic relations with Israel until it recognizes Palestine as an independent state. The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs said this in a statement on Wednesday.
Prior to this, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken had a meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Monday. At a press conference in Doha the day after the meeting, Blinken expressed interest in advancing relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel. Blinken said the Saudi crown prince expressed interest in normalizing relations. However, for this reason, he said that a process for the resolution of the conflict in Gaza and the establishment of a Palestinian state should be determined.
Anthony Blinken visited Saudi Arabia in June last year. Blinken held frank, candid talks with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during a three-day visit to the oil-rich nation to strengthen ties. Much of the discussion involved normalizing relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel. However, the officials said, there is no possibility of progress in this matter very easily or immediately. US officials said they discussed the possibility of normalizing relations with Israel.
Both parties agreed to continue discussions on this issue. Saudi Arabia has agreed to normalize relations with Israel in return for US cooperation and security assurances regarding its civilian nuclear program. The meeting also shed light on efforts to resolve the conflict in Sudan and Yemen.
A US official, who did not want to be named, said that the interests of the two countries are intertwined, some such potential joint ventures and issues of disagreement are discussed between them.
Washington believes that through several rounds of talks, Saudi Arabia’s relations with Israel will be normalized and the growing Russian and Chinese dominance in the region will decrease.
