Dubai, United Arab Emirates — President Joe Biden’s national security adviser met with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman early Sunday to discuss what the kingdom described as the “semifinal” version of a wide-ranging security agreement between the countries.
The announcement by the Saudi state press agency comes as the strategic agreement was upended following the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, which killed 1,200 people and saw another 250 taken hostage back to the Gaza Strip.
Since then, a harsh campaign of airstrikes and an Israeli ground offensive have killed more than 35,000 Palestinians, jeopardizing the security agreement that included Saudi Arabia diplomatically recognizing Israel for the first time since its founding in 1948.
Saudi state media did not publish images of Jake Sullivan and Prince Mohammed meeting in Dhahran, a city in the kingdom’s far east that is home to its state oil giant, the Saudi Arabian Oil Co. known as Saudi Aramco.
“The semi-final version of the draft strategic agreements between the kingdom and the United States of America, which are almost finalized, and what is being worked on between the two parties on the Palestinian issue to find a credible path, was discussed. ”said the statement issued after the talks.
That included “a two-state solution that meets the aspirations and legitimate rights of the Palestinian people” and “the situation in Gaza and the need to stop the war there and facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid,” the statement added.
Saudi Arabia has long called for the creation of an independent Palestinian state along Israel’s 1967 borders, with east Jerusalem as its capital. However, that may likely prove unsustainable for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose government depends on the support of hardliners who oppose a two-state solution and support Israeli settlements on land the Palestinians want. for that State.
The White House had acknowledged Sullivan’s trip and that he would then head to Israel. However, there was no immediate statement from the United States about the discussions, beyond saying that they would “include the war in Gaza and ongoing efforts to achieve lasting peace and security in the region.”
Saudi Arabia has long depended – like other Gulf Arab nations – on the United States as guarantor of security for the entire Middle East, as tensions over Iran’s nuclear program in recent years have spread to a series of attacks. The proposal now being discussed would likely deepen that and reportedly also includes access to advanced weapons and possibly trade deals as well.
Saudi Arabia has also pushed for nuclear cooperation in the deal that includes the United States allowing it to enrich uranium in the kingdom, something that worries nonproliferation experts as the spinning centrifuges open the door to a possible weapons program. Prince Mohammed has said the kingdom would pursue a nuclear weapon if Iran had one. In recent weeks, Iran has increasingly threatened to do so.
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