Saudi FM: Some deals with US not tied to Israel normalization can still move forward
Bilateral agreements on trade, AI could advance ‘quickly,’ Faisal bin Farhan says, reiterating that deal with Israel ‘off the table until we have a resolution to Palestinian statehood’
Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister said on Thursday that Riyadh could potentially move “quite quickly” on some bilateral agreements with Washington even if a mega-deal involving normalization with Israel remains out of reach.
Since last year, Saudi Arabia has been bargaining hard for a defense pact with the United States as well as assistance with a civilian nuclear program.
As part of that deal, the Gulf kingdom, home to the holiest shrines in Islam, would recognize Israel for the first time.
De facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman last month ruled out recognizing Israel without the establishment of a Palestinian state, upping the price for the deal after Riyadh had indicated for months that it would be prepared to settle for steps that fall short of that far-reaching goal.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan reiterated on Thursday that normalization was “off the table until we have a resolution to Palestinian statehood” — a framework that Israel flatly rejects.
But during a session at the Future Investment Initiative forum in Riyadh, he also said deals in other areas could advance soon.
“The bilateral agreements we are working on with the US are actually multiple agreements,” Prince Faisal said.
“Some of them we can progress probably quite quickly, and some of them we are working on — especially those related to trade, AI, et cetera — which are not tied to any other third parties.”
Officials in US President Joe Biden’s administration have described the ongoing bilateral talks as building toward the proposed mega-deal, dismissing the possibility of separating the different components.
Prince Faisal seemed to acknowledge on Thursday that the defense-related elements were bound up with normalization.
“Some of the more significant defense cooperation agreements are much more complicated,” he said.
“We would certainly welcome an opportunity to finish them before the current administration’s term, but that’s reliant on other factors outside of our control.”
Prince Faisal also said Riyadh had no preference on the winner of next week’s presidential election in the US.
“Obviously, we’ve worked with President [Donald] Trump before, so we know him, and we can find a way to work with him very well,” he said.
“But we also know, obviously, the team that is currently working with the Biden administration. Vice President [Kamala] Harris is part of that team, and we’ve been able to build a very strong working relationship. So we absolutely have no preference.”
He added: “They will certainly be different, whether one or the other would be better, this is not up to me to say.”
Turning to the IDF’s ongoing military operation in northern Gaza, Prince Faisal said Israeli actions there could only be described as a form of “genocide” that was feeding a cycle of violence.
“We look at just what’s happening now in north [Gaza] where we have a complete blockade of any access for humanitarian goods coupled with a continued military assault without any real pathway for civilians to find shelter, to find safe zones, that can only be described as a form of genocide,” he said.
“It is certainly against humanitarian law, international humanitarian law, and is feeding a continuing cycle of violence.”
In Jerusalem, there was no immediate response from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office to a request for comment.
Israel says it has continued food deliveries into Gaza and blames the United Nations for failing to feed Gazans. The IDF says it is operating in certain northern Gaza cities in order to quash a resurgence of Hamas activity there.
Fears of the Middle East conflict further widening peaked earlier this month after Tehran’s missile attack on Israel on October 1.
Israel responded by striking military sites in Iran on Saturday but stopped short of attacking nuclear or oil facilities.
Gulf states had sought urgent de-escalation, fearing they could be caught in the crosshairs of a widening conflict.
Top oil exporter Saudi Arabia has had a political rapprochement with Tehran in recent years, which has helped ease regional tensions, but relations remain difficult.
“I think our relations [with Iran] are moving in the right direction, but of course, they are complicated by the issues of regional dynamics,” Prince Faisal said.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.