Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen stated he could plan a go to to Saudi Arabia sooner or later and that not less than yet one more Arab nation would set up diplomatic relations with Israel later in 2023.
“This (visit to Saudi Arabia) is on the table, there is no date yet,” he stated, chatting with Israel’s Army Radio throughout a state go to to Azerbaijan on Wednesday.
In 2020, Israel reached accords to normalize ties with Saudi Arabia’s Gulf neighbors, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain and later included Morocco within the so-called Abraham Accords.
It has made no secret of its want for nearer ties with Saudi Arabia, which has held again on formally recognizing Israel within the absence of a decision to Palestinian statehood objectives. Earlier this week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated normalization with Riyadh can be a “giant step” towards ending the Arab-Israeli battle.
Cohen stated that this yr not less than yet one more nation would be part of the Abraham Accords, with out elaborating.
He added that the problem of normalizing relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia got here up throughout U.S. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham’s assembly with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman this week.
“The enemy of Saudi Arabia is certainly not Israel. Its enemy is Iran,” Cohen stated on Wednesday.
Saudi Arabia and Iran ended years of hostility following a China-brokered settlement in March. When requested in regards to the restoration of ties between Riyadh and Tehran, Cohen stated that such a improvement may bode nicely for Israel.
“It is precisely this thing that can lead to a balancing act of (Saudi Arabia) moving closer to Israel,” he stated.
Earlier on Wednesday, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Jeddah the place the 2 mentioned the state of affairs within the occupied Palestinian territories, the Palestinian WAFA news company reported.
Source: www.dailysabah.com
