US President Joe Biden defended his recent visit to Saudi Arabia last year, based on several successes that resulted, such as the start of Israeli overflights of the kingdom.
In response to a question in an interview with CNN about whether the United States of America would sign a defense pact with the Saudis and provide them with a civilian nuclear capability at Riyadh’s request, Biden said, “We’re far from it to matter.”
“Whether or not we’re going to provide them with the means to access civil nuclear power and/or be a guarantor of their safety, I think it’s a bit far-fetched,” he added.
On June 22, Axios reported that any US-Saudi rapprochement deal would have an important economic component.
The same site has previously said that the Biden administration wants to settle a deal to normalize relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel within the next six months before the US president gets on with his campaign.
In turn, The Jerusalem Post quoted Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen on June 22 as confirming his country’s interest in moving forward with the signing of a peace agreement with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, given that the Saudis “are also interested in this issue.”
Cohen said at a press conference that he was “very optimistic” that Israel and Saudi Arabia would work to normalize relations between them before March 2024.
Source: CNN