US President Donald Trump is expected to invite Saudi Crown prince Mohammed bin Salman to the White House following the signing of the Israel-UAE peace agreement and ahead of the US presidential elections in November, a senior Saudi source has told "Globes." During the meeting on Tuesday between bin Salman and Jared Kushner, President Trump's senior advisor on the Middle East and son-in-law, major progress was made on the issue of the planned White House meeting and the full details should be agreed upon soon.
However, the Saudi source ruled out for the time being any meeting between bin Salman and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The source said, "It is still too early, Israel needs to show much more political readiness before this will happen. Opening the skies to Israeli flights above our country is a big move forward, and enough at this stage."
Nevertheless, the White House meeting will be Saudi Arabia's way of saying out loud that it supports the Israel-UAE peace agreement and a chance to encourage more Saudi gestures towards Israel.
In all likelihood the invitation would not mean that the Saudi Crown Prince will attend the Israel-UAE peace agreement signing ceremony which could take place in Washington before Rosh Hashana (Jewish New Year), which falls on September 18.
The meeting between President Trump and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will end two years in which the US has distanced itself from Saudi Arabia following the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The US-based critic of the Saudi regime was killed by Saudi agents in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
Concern that a Biden victory will halt arms deals
Trump wants to present another international diplomacy achievement to assist his election campaign and at the same time clinch $100 billion more in arms deals for the US defense industries in key election states like North Carolina, Florida, Virginia and Nevada.
Bin Salman has refrained from visiting the US since the Khashoggi affair where he has been a persona non grata especially in the eyes of Congress, which halted arms deals following the murder.
While in Washington bin Salman will seek to close contracts for advanced weaponry before the US presidential elections, out of concern that if the Democrat candidate Joe Biden wins, he will be less prepared to promote any deals.
The big fear in Riyadh, as well as in Jerusalem, is that Biden would alter course on US policy to Iran and cancel at least some of the sanctions and try to renew the agreement with Tehran signed by Barack Obama but which Trump cancelled.
Israel is following closely after these contacts and hopes that they will mature into something that brings Israel and Saudi Arabia closer together. Although sources in Jerusalem do not believe that a US arms deal would not be enough to persuade bin Salman to sign an Israel-UAE style normalization agreement.
A senior Israeli official told "Globes" that, "There is opposition in Saudi Arabia (to normalization with Israel) including from the king, and it would be difficult to take a decision whose significance the cancellation of the Saudi peace plan proposal, the main part of which is political progress with the Palestinians in exchange for economic peace with the Gulf states."
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on September 3, 2020 © Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2020