Israeli Foreign Minister: Normalization is on the table with Saudi Arabia, and I intend to visit it
Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen revealed, on Wednesday, that he will visit Saudi Arabia, without specifying a date, which Riyadh has not commented on so far.
“(The visit to Saudi Arabia) is on the table, there is no date yet,” Cohen told the Israeli Army Radio during a visit to Azerbaijan.
He added that “at least one other country will join the Abraham Accords (normalization) this year,” but did not give details.
He explained that the issue of normalizing relations between “Israel” and Saudi Arabia was raised during the meeting of Republican US Senator Lindsey Graham with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman this week.
“Israel is definitely not the enemy of Saudi Arabia. Its enemy is Iran,” Cohen stressed.
When asked about the return of relations between Riyadh and Tehran, Cohen said, “This development is a good indicator for Israel,” noting that “this is precisely what can lead to a balance that brings (Saudi Arabia) closer to Israel.”
Saudi Arabia does not establish any relations with “Israel”, and usually confirms that it refuses to normalize relations before resolving the Palestinian issue.
Last Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Tel Aviv wants peace and normalization with Saudi Arabia, and considers this a “big step” towards ending the Arab-Israeli conflict.
This came during his meeting with Republican US Senator Graham, who said that the issue of normalizing relations between Tel Aviv and Riyadh was raised during his meeting with the Saudi crown prince this week.
