WASHINGTON (Agencies): The US and Saudi Arabia are reportedly on the brink of a comprehensive agreement, according to the State Department. However, Riyadh has warned that it will not sign the deal unless there is peace in Gaza. White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan recently met with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Dhahran to discuss bilateral relations and the ongoing Gaza conflict.
The discussions also centered on the situation in Gaza, emphasizing the need to end the war and facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid. These talks come as US President Joe Biden is reportedly advocating for a broad deal between Riyadh and Washington. This deal would involve Israel recognizing a Palestinian state in return for Saudi recognition of the Jewish state.
The proposed US-Saudi deal would encompass cooperation on a civilian nuclear program, the sale of advanced American-made weapons to Riyadh, and potentially a trade agreement. Sullivan told the Financial Times earlier this month that normalization between Riyadh and Tel Aviv could lead to a more secure Israel and a more peaceful region.
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller stated that Washington is very close to reaching an agreement on the bilateral aspects of the package between the US and Saudi Arabia. However, Riyadh has made it clear that it will not approve the deal unless there is calm in Gaza and a path to an independent Palestinian state.
Bloomberg News previously reported that the US and Saudi Arabia are nearing a historic pact that would offer the kingdom security guarantees and a potential path to diplomatic relations with Israel if its government ends the Gaza war. If signed, this pact could potentially reshape the Middle East.
In January, media reported that Saudi Arabia had resumed negotiations with the US on a defense deal after a three-month hiatus due to the escalation in the Middle East following a sudden attack on Israel by the Palestinian militant group Hamas on October 7. The attack led Israel to launch a ground military operation in the Gaza Strip, which is currently being devastated by Israeli airstrikes that have already killed more than 34,000 Palestinians, according to Hamas health officials.
In early August 2023, Washington and Riyadh agreed on the broad contours of a potential deal to normalize relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel. However, in September of that year, media quoted a source in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office as saying that Riyadh had informed Washington of the termination of negotiations on a Saudi-Israeli normalization deal.
In 2020, the United States initiated a process to normalize relations between Israel and the Arab world. As a result, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain signed a series of documents known as the Abraham Accords in September 2020, joined by Morocco in December 2020.