US President Joe Biden said Friday night that there may be an agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia, but did not provide details beyond that. Biden made the statement during a fundraising conference.
Last Thursday, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan visited Riyadh to examine the possibility of completing a tripartite deal between Israel, the United States and the kingdom that would include normalization, security assistance to Saudi Arabia, and a change in Israeli policy on the Palestinian issue.
Without shaking hands: Biden meets with bin Salman in Saudi Arabia (Archive) // Credit: Saudi TV
New York Times senior commentator Thomas Friedman wrote of the meeting: "After the talks between Biden and Sullivan, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and Middle East envoy Brett McGurk, Biden dispatched Sullivan and McGurk to Riyadh to explore the feasibility of a deal."
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, photo: AFP
Friedman made it clear that even if Biden decides to "take it to the next level," it will take a long time before they can find the formula for a deal because "a lot of things have to be acceptable to a lot of people" in negotiations. However, Friedman stressed, "Sullivan did not come to Saudi Arabia for tourism purposes."
About ten days ago, US President Biden and Israeli President Herzog met. Among the details discussed by the presidents was the peace agreement with Saudi Arabia. The Americans stressed the importance of the normalization process, which is complex but possible.
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