(C) Common Dreams
This story was originally published by Common Dreams and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .



Saudi Arabia Offers Its Price to Normalize Relations With Israel [1]

['Michael Crowley', 'Vivian Nereim', 'Patrick Kingsley', 'More About Michael Crowley', 'More About Vivian Nereim', 'More About Patrick Kingsley']

Date: 2023-03-09

WASHINGTON — Saudi Arabia is seeking security guarantees from the United States, help with developing a civilian nuclear program and fewer restrictions on U.S. arms sales as its price for normalizing relations with Israel, people familiar with the exchanges say.

If sealed, the deal could set up a major political realignment of the Middle East.

Riyadh’s ambitious request offers President Biden the chance to broker a dramatic agreement that would reshape Israel’s relationship with the most powerful Arab state. It could also fulfill his pledge to build on the Trump-era Abraham Accords, which brokered similar diplomatic deals between Israel and other Arab nations, including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco.

A normalization deal would also fulfill one of the most cherished goals of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, capping what he considers a legacy of increasing Israel’s security against its archenemy, Iran. The deal would strengthen regional alliances, analysts say, while downgrading the relative importance of the Palestinian issue.

Officials and experts in the United States and the Middle East were divided on how seriously to take the proposal, given the frosty relations between Mr. Biden and Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s crown prince.

[END]
---
[1] Url: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/09/us/politics/saudi-arabia-israel-united-states.html

Published and (C) by Common Dreams
Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 3.0..

via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/commondreams/

You are viewing proxied material from magical.fish. The copyright of proxied material belongs to its original authors. Any comments or complaints in relation to proxied material should be directed to the original authors of the content concerned. Please see the disclaimer for more details.