The White House’s chief national security official reiterated on Sunday that the United States would not commit to a defense pact with Saudi Arabia unless the deal included guarantees of the latter’s diplomatic normalization with Saudi Arabia.
Jake Sullivan, who serves as President Biden’s top national security aide, told the UK-based Financial Times that the materializing deal currently being discussed with Saudi Arabia centers on a “bilateral understanding” between the US and the Gulf Kingdom on defense issues as well as a non-negotiable normalization process with Israel. Similarly, the deal would also center on a framework providing “meaningful steps on behalf of the Palestinian people,” he added.
Last Friday, the Biden administration put out a statement rejecting the rumors that a Saudi defense agreement would be agreed upon without Saudi recognition of Israel.
Sullivan, laying out a broad, nondescript timeline, went on to frame the current negotiations as something the public could expect to hear from President Biden in “the months ahead” and noted that the administration believes these talks could be the key to both Israeli security and regional stability at large.
“All we can do is work out what we think makes sense and try to get as many countries in the region on board with it and then present it, and it will ultimately be up to the Israeli leadership, and frankly, ultimately, the Israeli people can decide whether that’s a path they want to take or not,” Sullivan noted.
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