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Pompeo continues to praise the normalization agreements (AFP)
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Wednesday that he expects more Arab countries to join the normalization convoy with the Israeli occupation launched by the United Arab Emirates, refusing to confirm or deny that a secret meeting between the prime minister Israeli, Benjamin Netanyahu, and the Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman. .
During an interview with “Fox News”, Pompeo said: “I hope to announce more normalization agreements. It is difficult for me to know if this will happen in the next 30 or 60 days, or in six months.”
In response to a direct question about his secret meeting with Bin Salman in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with Bin Salman on Sunday night, it was enough to say that he had met with the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, refusing to comment on if Netanyahu attended the meeting.
On the other hand, Pompeo promised during the interview to act in accordance with the provisions of the law during the transfer of power to the administration of the president-elect, Joe Biden, and said: “We will do what the law requires.”
He added that the State Department “began the transition process after the General Services Administration approved Joe Biden’s victory.”
The unprecedented meeting between Netanyahu and Bin Salman, which was announced and confirmed by Israeli media and published by US media, but denied by Saudi sources, opens the door to an open rapprochement between the two countries.
The Israeli authorities neither confirmed nor denied the meeting, which the media reported was taking place in the Neom area in the northwest of the Kingdom, in the presence of Pompeo. If the meeting is officially confirmed, it will be the first public meeting between a Saudi official from the ruling family and an Israeli, as well as the first public visit by an Israeli official to Saudi Arabia.
However, Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan denied that the meeting took place, after he tweeted on Monday: “I have seen press reports about an alleged meeting between His Highness the Crown Prince and Israeli officials during the recent visit of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Any meeting like this takes place. The meeting was only between US and Saudi officials. “
Hours before the official denial, Saudi advisers confirmed to the Wall Street Journal that the news was correct that Netanyahu had made a brief “secret” visit to Saudi Arabia, during which he met with Bin Salman in the city of Neom.
The “Wall Street Journal” reported that Netanyahu made his secret trip Sunday night, accompanied by “Mossad” chief Yossi Cohen, and met with the Saudi crown prince and the US secretary of state.
He noted that the talks touched on many topics, including normalizing relations and the Iranian dossier, noting that they did not result in any meaningful deals, according to a prominent Saudi adviser familiar with the talks. The latter indicated that the meeting lasted a few hours.
Riyadh previously said it would not follow the example of the United Arab Emirates in establishing formal relations with Israel, but the Kingdom of Bahrain quickly signed an agreement for normalization, in a move that observers said would not have materialized without the green light of the Saudi main neighbor. The Kingdom allowed direct flights between the Emirates, Bahrain and Israel to cross its airspace.
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