Meeting of Biden and Netanyahu: Working on Israeli-Saudi Normalization of Relations

(Patria) - U.S. President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged on Wednesday to work together on an agreement to establish diplomatic relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, Reuters reports.

Meeting for the first time since Netanyahu returned to power in December, both leaders hinted at a desire to ease tensions in their relations, but Biden also made it clear that he was determined to discuss their differences.

This included Biden's opposition to the judicial overhaul plan of Netanyahu's far-right government, as well as his concern over Israel's tough stance towards Palestinians.

"I hope we can resolve some things today," Biden said at the start of the talks, sitting shoulder to shoulder with Netanyahu in the ballroom of a New York hotel.

A White House statement released after the meeting said Biden "reiterated his concern about any fundamental changes to Israel's democratic system, without the broadest possible consensus."

Biden also called for "immediate measures to improve the security and economic situation, maintain the viability of the two-state solution, and promote a just and lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians," the statement said.

Instead of a meeting at the White House, which Netanyahu wanted, the two leaders spoke while both attended the annual UN General Assembly. Biden invited Netanyahu to visit Washington before the end of the year.

Biden reiterated his commitment to preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons and also reaffirmed his support for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
But the biggest item on the agenda was the United States' effort to establish diplomatic relations between the long-time enemies Israel and Saudi Arabia, a central part of broader complex negotiations involving U.S. security guarantees and civilian nuclear assistance sought by Riyadh, as well as Israeli concessions to the Palestinians.

"I think under your leadership, Mr. President, we can create a historic peace between Israel and Saudi Arabia," Netanyahu said.

"Such a peace would first and foremost go a long way to advancing the end of the Arab-Israeli conflict, achieving reconciliation between the Islamic world and the Jewish state, and advancing a genuine peace between Israel and the Palestinians," he added.

Netanyahu said they could work together to make history. A senior Biden administration official told reporters after the meeting that it is understood that some concessions to the Palestinians must be part of any deal, but did not say what those might be. He said a normalization deal is still far off and that all leaders involved will have to do "some very difficult things" to reach an agreement. Biden and Netanyahu spent some time in one-on-one meetings without advisors, the official added.