The foreign minister’s statement comes after Israeli media reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held secret talks with the kingdom’s crown prince.
Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister has denied reports that a meeting took place between Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Israeli officials on Sunday.
“I have seen press reports about an alleged meeting between HRH the Crown Prince and Israeli officials during the recent visit by @SecPompeo. There was no such meeting. The only officials present were Americans and Saudis, ”Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud wrote on Twitter on Monday.
Israeli media previously reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held secret talks in Saudi Arabia on Sunday with Crown Prince Mohammed, also known as MBS.
The reports by the Israeli public broadcaster Kan and other outlets came weeks after Israel reached deals to establish relations with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan.
I have seen press reports about an alleged meeting between HRH the Crown Prince and Israeli officials during the recent visit of @SecPompeo. There was no such meeting. The only officials present were Americans and Saudis.
– فيصل بن فرحان (@FaisalbinFarhan) November 23, 2020
The agreements were negotiated by the administration of US President Donald Trump, who is leaving office in less than two months.
There has been widespread speculation, within Israel and the US, that Washington may push for other Arab states to follow suit before President-elect Joe Biden is sworn in.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who was in Israel last week, was also at the reported talks, according to Kan’s diplomatic correspondent.
Pompeo has confirmed that he was in Neom on the Red Sea as part of a tour of the Middle East and met MBS.
Netanyahu’s office, the US State Department and the US embassy in Israel had not commented on the reports.
Saudi stance
Publicly, Saudi Arabia has said it will remain in the decades-old Arab League position of having no ties to Israel until the Jewish state’s conflict with the Palestinians is resolved.
The Palestinians have condemned the normalization agreements as “a stab in the back”, urging the Arab states to stand firm until Israel ends its occupation of Palestinian territory and agrees to the creation of a Palestinian state.
In late August, Netanyahu said Israel was holding “unpublished meetings with Arab and Muslim leaders to normalize relations with the state of Israel,” without naming any country.
But amid speculation that smaller Arab states, such as Oman, were also interested in a deal, Saudi Arabia has stood out as Israel’s key target, given the kingdom’s wealth and influence.
Sunni Arab states, and especially Israel, are concerned that Biden may seek to revive the Iran nuclear deal agreed between Tehran and world powers during Barack Obama’s presidency, which was scrapped by Trump.
The Trump administration has also downplayed the importance of human rights issues in international diplomacy and was particularly cautious in criticizing Saudi Arabia’s rights record, particularly on the assassination by Saudi agents of the prominent Saudi journalist and royal critic. Jamal Khashoggi.
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