RIYADH (Dispatches) – Saudi officials have snubbed the U.S. secretary of state’s latest push for the kingdom to normalize relations with the Zionist regime and his bid to win further concessions on oil prices and Riyadh’s recent resumption of ties with Syria and Iran during his high-profile visit to Saudi Arabia.
Speaking in a news conference alongside Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud in Riyadh on Thursday, the visiting Antony Blinken reiterated that Washington will continue to play an integral role in expanding normalization between the Zionist regime and Saudi Arabia.
Blinken, who was in the kingdom as part of a U.S. push to defuse rows that have touched on oil prices, and Riyadh’s opening to Iran, further insisted that normalizing relations between Zionist regime and its neighbors was a priority for Washington.
The Saudi foreign minister, however, rebuffed his American counterpart, saying that the kingdom believes “normalization of ties with Israel will have limited benefit without a pathway to peace for the Palestinians.”
“The Palestinian issue was and remains the central issue for Arab countries, and it is at the top of the kingdom’s priorities,” Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had also underlined during the Arab League summit in Jeddah ‘MbS Threatened Economic Pains on Washington’
Saudis Arabia Turns Down U.S. Demands During Blinken Visit on May 19.
“We will not delay in providing assistance to the Palestinian people in recovering their lands, restoring their legitimate rights and establishing an independent state on the 1967 borders with East Al-Quds as its capital,” he further noted at the time.
For his part, Prince Faisal defended the landmark decision to lift Syria’s Arab League suspension, which came shortly after the start of the country’s foreign-sponsored conflict 12 years ago.
Riyadh has leveraged its growing relationships with Russia and China as the Biden administration has pushed back against some Saudi demands including lifting restrictions on arms sales and help with sensitive high-tech industries.
Riyadh has clashed repeatedly with U.S. President Joe Biden on its supply of crude oil to global markets, its willingness to partner with Russia in OPEC+ and its decision to restore full diplomatic relations with Iran in a deal brokered by China.
A classified document has revealed that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) threatened to impose significant economic costs on Washington after Biden warned Riyadh over its decision to slash oil production last fall.
Even though the Saudi government publicly defended its actions politely via diplomatic statements, the 37-year-old de facto ruler of the country threatened in private to re-evaluate the Arab nation’s relationship with the White House and impose significant economic costs on the United States if it retaliated against the oil cuts.
According to the document, the crown prince claimed “he will not deal with the U.S. administration anymore,” and promised “major economic consequences for Washington,” The Washington Post reported.
The U.S. intelligence document was circulated on the Discord messaging platform as part of an extensive leak of highly sensitive national security materials.