Saudi Arabia is still interested in pursuing a normalization agreement with Israel, US National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby told reporters on Tuesday.
In response to a question about recent meetings between Saudi Arabian Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman Al Saud and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, Kirby stated that “we came away from those discussions confident that we have a path to get back towards to normalization and that there’s still interest on the Saudis’ side in pursuing that.”
“Obviously what’s going on between Israel and Hamas makes it harder to make practical progress on it right now. I would also remind that even before October 7 we were still months away from some sort of agreed framework. We’re still committed to it. It’s clear to us that the Saudis are still committed to it. But obviously, we’re all focused, including our Saudi friends, on what’s going on in Gaza.”
Saudi defense minister, US national security advisor discuss Israeli-Palestinian peace
In a readout concerning the meeting between the Saudi defense minister and Sullivan, the White House stated that the two “emphasized the importance of working towards a sustainable peace between Israelis and Palestinians, building on the work that was already underway between Saudi Arabia and the United States over recent months.”
The two also discussed the need to increase humanitarian assistance for Gaza and the importance of deterring any state or non-state actor from seeking to expand the conflict.
Sullivan told a White House briefing earlier this month that the normalization effort was “not on hold” but said the focus was on other immediate challenges.
At the Future Investment Initiative (FII) conference in Riyadh earlier this month, JPMorgan Chase boss Jamie Dimon encouraged Saudi Arabia not to abandon a United States-led initiative to establish official relations with Israel.
Reuters reported earlier that the efforts to reach a normalization agreement had been put on ice.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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