US and Saudi Arabia Close to Negotiating a Security Pact

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – The United States’ Biden administration is understood to be in the final stages of negotiating a security pact with Saudi Arabia that stipulates the US would defend the Saudi Kingdom in the event of an attack, while Riyadh would be obligated to block Russia and China from setting up military bases on its territory, the Jerusalem Post reports.

However, the deal is not expected to be approved by the two-thirds US Senate majority required for it to be ratified unless it includes a provision that Saudi Arabia normalizes relations with Israel, JPost notes. The Kingdom has been an official enemy of Israel since the establishment of the Jewish state in 1948, but has been increasingly cooperative with Jerusalem over a shared threat from Iran.

For its part, Saudi Arabia has said it is interested in normalizing relations with Israel, provided a two-state solution to the Palestinian conflict is achieved, JPost reports.

In January, the Saudi ambassador to the United Kingdom, Khalid bin Bandar Al Saud, told BBC News that, despite its criticisms of Israel’s ongoing war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Saudi Arabia is interested in establishing diplomatic relations with the Jewish state.

“Absolutely, there’s interest, there’s been interest since 1982 and before,” Al Saud stated. “We’ve been at this for a long time, and willing to accept Israel for a long time; it’s a reality that we have to live with. But we can’t live with Israel without a Palestinian state,” the ambassador said.

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