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Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan met to discuss a draft agreement between Washington and Riyadh that is almost ‘completed’, the Saudi state news agency reported on Sunday (19/5/2024).
The meeting in the Saudi city of Dhahran reviewed “the semi-final version of the draft strategic agreement between the two countries, which is nearing completion,” the statement said.
The discussions came after reports that Washington and Riyadh were close to reaching an agreement on United States (US) security guarantees and civilian nuclear assistance, even as an Israeli-Saudi normalization deal hoped for as part of a Middle East “grand bargain” has yet to be reached.
The de facto Saudi leader and President Joe Biden’s top security staff also discussed the need to find a “credible path to realizing a two-state solution” for Israel and the Palestinians, ending the war against Hamas militants in Gaza and facilitating humanitarian aid to Gaza, the statement said.
The White House said on Friday (17/5/2024) that Sullivan would visit Saudi Arabia and Israel to discuss bilateral and regional issues, including Gaza and efforts to achieve lasting peace and security in the region.
Saudi Arabia, as the world’s largest oil exporter, is not an obvious candidate for a nuclear deal that usually aims to build power plants.
But the kingdom is seeking to produce large amounts of renewable energy and reduce emissions under ambitious long-term plans, while critics say Riyadh may want nuclear expertise if it someday wants to acquire nuclear weapons, despite safeguards enshrined in an agreement with Washington to prevent this.
