Blinken: Riyadh wants end of war, 'time-bound' path to Palestinian state in exchange for normalization

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler reiterated an interest in ties with Israel during their meeting in Riyadh yesterday but wants an end to the Gaza conflict and a pathway to a Palestinian state.

“With regard specifically to normalization, the crown prince reiterated Saudi Arabia’s strong interest in pursuing that,” Blinken tells reporters during a press conference in Doha.

“But he also made clear what he had said to me before, which is that in order to do that, two things will be required — an end to the conflict in Gaza, and a clear, credible time-bound path to the establishment of a Palestinian state,” Blinken adds.