PNN – An American media outlet revealed that the U.S. President, a month ago, in a confidential call, asked the Saudi Crown Prince to begin normalization talks with the Israeli regime.
According to the report of Pakistan News Network, the Axios news platform disclosed that Donald Trump, following the Sharm El-Sheikh summit on the Gaza ceasefire last month, emphasized in a phone call with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman that, given the end of the Gaza war, he expects Riyadh to initiate the process of normalizing relations with Israel.
Two U.S. officials stated that this issue will be one of the main topics during next week’s meeting between Trump and bin Salman at the White House.
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The report said that the previously undisclosed phone call took place after the Gaza peace summit in Egypt. A U.S. official familiar with the call said Trump told bin Salman that he had managed to end the Gaza war and now expects the Saudi Crown Prince to take steps toward normalizing relations with Israel.
Axios, quoting this official, wrote that bin Salman expressed his willingness to cooperate with the Trump administration in the path toward normalization with Israel.
The outlet noted that although the Gaza war was one of the main obstacles to the talks, it is not the only one. However, U.S. officials say that some of Saudi Arabia’s key demands have now been met.
According to the report, Saudi Arabia seeks to sign a security agreement with the U.S., and it is expected that Trump will provide a security assurance to Riyadh during the Crown Prince’s visit to Washington. While this assurance is not a formal defense treaty, it could serve as a basis for such an agreement.
Axios assessed the establishment of a Palestinian state as one of the challenges to normalizing relations between Tel Aviv and Riyadh and noted that although Trump’s plan addresses the issue of Palestinian statehood, Israel and Netanyahu do not share this interpretation.
The Western outlet wrote that Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s Prime Minister and a staunch opponent of the two-state solution, has opposed parts of Trump’s plan, and his hardline approach, according to U.S. officials, has made progress in negotiations difficult. Trump’s advisors have urged Netanyahu to consider long-term interests, as advancing the peace plan could lead to a historic agreement with Saudi Arabia.
Axios added that Trump’s plan links the expansion of the Palestinian Authority’s powers to the full implementation of reforms desired by the U.S. U.S. officials say negotiations are ongoing, but it remains unclear whether progress in normalization will be achieved during the upcoming visit of the Saudi Crown Prince to Washington.