The July 15 announcement from Riyadh of opened airspace was made hours before Joe Biden became the first US president to travel directly from Tel Aviv to Jeddah in order to attend a summit with Mideast leaders, and was characterized by Biden and Prime Minister Yair Lapid as a “first step” toward formal Israel-Saudi ties.
But Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan poured cold water on the notion during a July 17 press conference less than an hour after Biden left Jeddah. “This has nothing to do with diplomatic ties with Israel,” he said. “It’s not in any way a precursor to any further steps.”
The Saudi minister’s remarks appeared to dent Biden’s efforts during the trip to advance Israel’s integration in the region.
However, the senior administration official insisted that Washington was unnerved by the remarks. READ MORE
