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28-07-2023
WASHINGTON: The White House has announced that United States National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan met with Saudi leaders in Jeddah to discuss peace efforts in the Middle East but Thursday’s read-out made no mention of a possible normalization agreement between Saudi Arabia and Israel, a US priority in the region.
The meeting instead centred on “bilateral and regional matters”, the White House said, including initiatives “for a more peaceful, secure, prosperous and stable Middle East”.
Nevertheless, Sullivan’s visit coincides with an ongoing effort under US President Joe Biden to establish relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, two longtime adversaries.
Warming ties with Saudi crown prince
In attendance at Thursday’s meeting was Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who has served as prime minister since 2022.
Due to King Salman’s failing health, the crown prince has long been considered the kingdom’s de facto ruler, even prior to his appointment as prime minister.
Sullivan previously visited with bin Salman in May, as the two discussed greater ties between the Middle East and India. And last month, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken sat down with bin Salman in Jeddah, as part of warming relations with the crown prince.
Bin Salman remains a controversial figure in the US, due to his association with the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and other alleged human rights abuses.
Biden had previously disavowed the Saudi government on the presidential campaign trail, citing Khashoggi’s assassination.
“We were going to, in fact, make them pay the price and make them, in fact, the pariah that they are,” Biden said during a 2019 Democratic debate but in the years since taking office as president, the Democratic leader has warmed to bin Salman, continuing the US’s close ties with the Saudi kingdom.
Biden himself visited bin Salman in Saudi Arabia last year, a move denounced by groups like Human Rights Watch. (Int’l News Desk)
