Sunday, May 5, 2024

US national security adviser: Saudi defense pact not possible without Israel deal

US national security adviser Jake Sullivan told The Financial Times on Saturday that the Biden administration would not sign a defense agreement with Saudi Arabia if the kingdom and Israel did not agree to normalize relations.

Sullivan dismissed the recent suggestions that a bilateral deal between the Biden administration and the kingdom was being considered if Israel refused to make concessions to Palestinian Arabs.

“The integrated vision is a bilateral understanding between the US and Saudi Arabia combined with normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia, combined with meaningful steps on behalf of the Palestinian people,” he told The Financial Times. “All of that has to come together...you can’t disentangle one piece from the others.”

Sullivan said that President Joe Biden intended to publicly detail “the path [to].. a more peaceful region”. READ MORE