Washington insists that even the Israeli genocide in Gaza is not enough to slow down the normalization process between Riyadh and Tel Aviv. In response, the Saudis issued this statement.
Upon his return to the Middle East for the sixth time, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken landed in Saudi Arabia first on Tuesday.
Some media analysts suggested that Blinken’s choice of Saudi Arabia as his first stop is directly linked to a US attempt to basically ‘bribe’ Israel to end its war on Gaza by leveraging Saudi normalization with Israel as a reward for the extremist Netanyahu government to end the genocide in Gaza.
Quickly, US National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby capitalized on that visit by claiming that Riyadh has conveyed ‘positive feedback’ to Washington regarding ‘a normalization arrangement’ with Tel Aviv.
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The Saudi foreign ministry, however, qualified its position, though without directly commenting on Kirby’s allegations, with an official statement.
Below is the text of the statement, published on Wednesday.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that regarding the discussions between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United States of America on the Arab-Israeli peace process, and in light of what has been attributed to the US National Security Spokesperson, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs affirms that the position of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has always been steadfast on the Palestinian issue and the necessity that the brotherly Palestinian people obtain their legitimate rights.”
“The Kingdom has communicated its firm position to the US administration that there will be no diplomatic relations with Israel unless an independent Palestinian state is recognized on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, and that the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip stops and all Israeli occupation forces withdraw from the Gaza Strip.”
“The Kingdom reiterates its call to the permanent members of the UN Security Council that have not yet recognized the Palestinian state, to expedite the recognition of the Palestinian state on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, so that the Palestinian people can obtain their legitimate rights and so that a comprehensive and just peace is achieved for all.”
(The Palestine Chronicle)
