Saudi Arabia has informed the United States that there will be no diplomatic relations with Israel unless an independent Palestinian state is recognized within the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem and Israeli aggression in the Gaza Strip does not stop, the Saudi Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Wednesday. Reuters and Agerpres inform

John KirbyPhoto: – / Editorial Shutterstock / Profimedia

On Tuesday, White House national security spokesman John Kirby said the Biden administration has received positive feedback that Saudi Arabia and Israel are willing to continue talks on normalizing bilateral relations.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia issued the statement to reaffirm its firm position with Washington on the Palestinian issue, in light of comments attributed to Kirby, the ministry said.

The idea of ​​officially strengthening Israel-Saudi relations has been mooted since Saudi Arabia tacitly agreed to allow Gulf neighbors the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain to establish ties with Israel in 2020.

Saudi Arabia froze US-backed plans to normalize ties with Israel, sources familiar with Riyadh’s vision told Reuters in October 2023, as the war between the Palestinian militant group Hamas and Israeli forces escalated.