US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan insists that no decision has been made to halt the Biden administration’s effort to broker a normalization agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia, though the initiative has admittedly been dropped down Washington’s priority list.
“For the moment, the focus has to be on helping Israel defend itself against the brutal terrorism of Hamas. We will have opportunities as we go forward to look at diplomatic initiatives like normalization,” Sullivan tells ABC’s This Week.
“There’s not some kind of formal pause. We’re not pressing a button. The main effort and emphasis from a diplomatic perspective of the United States today is on the immediate situation,” he adds.
His comments come after multiple reports from Saudi Arabia that it had frozen the process.
A diplomatic official, speaking on condition of anonymity, denied that Saudi Arabia has made a formal decision to halt normalization talks, but acknowledges to The Times of Israel that they are not the focus of Riyadh at the moment.
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
— Gabriella Jacobs, multimedia journalist
Support our work
Support our work
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
From the Liveblog of
Sunday, October 15, 2023
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
