Avoiding answering CNN ’s question about impunity for Saudi Crown Prince after Washington’s report on Jamal Khashoggi’s assassination, Foreign Minister said normalization of relations with Israel holds a great advantage.
In an interview with Cyanan on Thursday evening, Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah Al Saud addressed the issue of normalizing relations with Tel Aviv, as well as Saudi Arabia’s relations with the United States.
Normalize relations with Tel Aviv
“I do not know if this is imminent or not,” Faisal bin Farhan said in response to a question from a Cyanide host about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s remarks about the imminent normalization of relations between Tel Aviv and Riyadh and a direct flight from occupied Palestine to Saudi Arabia. This largely depends on progress in the peace process, so naturally there is a deal to normalize relations on the table that has been on the table since 2002 and is called the Arab Peace Plan. Even before that, in 1982, we had the first initiative; “An initiative that raised the prospect of a complete normalization of relations with Israel in exchange for a just settlement of the Palestinian question.”
The Saudi Foreign Minister continued:. “I think that normalizing Israel’s position within the region will be of great benefit to the whole region. This [normalization] will be very useful economically, socially and security-wise. The normalization of relations in the region cannot succeed now unless we resolve the issue of Palestine. If we can build a Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders, it will give dignity to the Palestinians and restore their rights. “If we can find a way to it, I think we can see the region as much safer and more prosperous so that everyone can contribute to its success, including in Israel.”
Asked about direct flights from occupied Palestine to Mecca and Riyadh’s response to the flights, Ibn Farhan said: “We have not agreed to this; But as I said, if we make progress on the issue of Israel and Palestine, because we, as you know, welcome Israeli citizens of all religions in Saudi Arabia, not just Muslims; “But let us move the peace process forward first.”
In response to another question about what Riyadh wants to agree to these flights and whether there is a short offer that Riyadh will cook at this stage to move this issue, he said: “We now have We are talking about a hypothesis. “There is nothing I want to add.”
The assassination of Jamal Khashgechi and Washington’s relations with Riyadh
Cyanan continued his questions about the assassination of Jamal Khashgechi, a columnist for the Washington Post and a critical Saudi journalist, and asked the Saudi Foreign Minister if US President Joe Biden first made a report after coming to power in the United States. Published about Khashgechi assassination; However, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman did not punish Riyadh and only boycotted a few officials, saying US-Saudi relations needed to be “reorganized”. What was the reason for this and how would you describe relations with the United States?
Avoiding answering the question about the punishment of the Crown Prince, Faisal bin Farhan said: “I will describe our relations as strong; Relationships that reflect a historic and strong relationship that many governments have seen, both Republican and Democrat, on an equal footing, and now span more than 75 years. “We have strong and joint plans for many issues, including regional security, in which we will continue to work.”
“We have a strong dialogue with the Biden administration, including in repeated contacts with our counterparts in the United States,” he added. What we hear is that there is a lot of room for agreement. For example, one of the areas where we work closely together is security and ending the conflict, as we announced the Saudi initiative for a ceasefire; The issue was closely coordinated with the Biden government as well as Martin Griffiths (UN Special Representative for Yemen). “We continue to work closely together on many other issues, so there is a strong, dynamic and ongoing dialogue between the two countries.”
“I think the Biden administration believes that relations with Saudi Arabia are key to the interests,” he said, referring to the Saudi Crown Prince’s punishment, and bin Farhan reiterated his remarks on relations with the United States. The United States and its priorities in the region and abroad. They know that working with Saudi Arabia requires working with us and our leadership. “We continue to talk about the best way to pursue our countries’ interests, and we also ensure that our interests are served and that the interests we have had for decades are served.”
