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WASHINGTON – United States of America (US) is committed to brokering formal diplomatic relations between Israel and Arab Saudi . US Secretary of State Antony Blinken made this statement as President Joe Biden’s administration continues its push for “normalization” of Israel.
Speaking at the conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), an influential pro-Israel lobby group in the US, Blinken said Monday (5/6/2023), that Washington “has a real national security interest in promoting normalization” between the two countries. country.
“We believe that we can – and indeed we should – play an integral role in moving it forward,” Blinken said, as quoted by Al Jazeera.
Blinken, who is visiting Saudi Arabia this week, admits that a deal cannot be concluded easily. “However, we remain committed to achieving that result, including on the trips I will take this week to Jeddah and Riyadh,” he added.
The comments by the top US diplomat come amid a realignment of the region after Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed to rebuild their own diplomatic ties in a move expected to defuse tensions in the Middle East.
Several Arab countries have recognized Israel – a major US ally in the region – since its founding in 1948. But the administration of former US President Donald Trump helped secure a deal to build ties between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco by 2020.
Sudan also agreed to join the normalization deal, known as the Abraham Accords.
Reporting from the White House on Monday, Al Jazeera’s Kimberly Halkett said that while it is known that the US is pushing Saudi Arabia and Israel to forge diplomatic ties, it is important that Blinken explicitly mentions the push as a national security interest.
