Saudi drops pursuit of US defence treaty over Israel stalemate

TDT | agencies

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Saudi Arabia has abandoned its pursuit of a comprehensive defence treaty with the United States in exchange for normalising ties with Israel, opting instead to push for a more limited military cooperation agreement, according to two Saudi and four Western officials speaking to Reuters.

A senior Saudi official revealed that the treaty was nearly finalised, being 95% complete, but Riyadh decided to explore an alternative deal, as the original agreement was deemed unattainable without Israel’s normalisation.

“How can we imagine a region integrated if we sidestep the Palestinian issue?” the official said. “You can’t deny the Palestinian right to self-determination.”

Earlier this year, in an effort to secure a broad security pact, Saudi Arabia softened its stance on Palestinian statehood, suggesting that a public Israeli commitment to a two-state solution could be sufficient for the Kingdom to move forward with normalising relations.