U.S. President Joe Biden, in an interview with CNN aired on Sunday, stated that "Israel and Saudi Arabia have a long way to go to reach an agreement on normalizing relations, which includes a defense treaty and a civilian nuclear program from the United States." In the interview with the program "GPS," Biden mentioned, "We are still very far from that; we have many things to discuss."
He referred to the decision made by Saudi Arabia on the eve of his visit to the kingdom last summer, which opened its airspace to all airlines. He also highlighted efforts aimed at achieving a permanent ceasefire in Yemen.
Biden stated, "We are making progress in the region. This hinges on actions and what is required to recognize Israel." He added, "To be completely honest, I don't think they have a big problem with Israel. Regarding whether we will provide them a means to acquire civilian nuclear energy or whether we can offer security guarantees, I think that is a bit far off."
American officials are currently negotiating in an attempt to reach a long-shot normalization agreement between the two countries. Israel expects Washington to consult it regarding the U.S.-Saudi deal that impacts its national security. It is widely believed that Israel possesses nuclear weapons and has not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, nor does it have a civilian nuclear program.
Last month, Israel's Minister of Energy expressed his opposition to the idea of Saudi Arabia developing a nuclear program for peaceful purposes as part of any U.S.-mediated agreement to establish relations between the two countries.
Additionally, Foreign Minister Eli Cohen expressed optimism regarding the rare participation of an Israeli delegation in the FIFA global video game soccer championship, which Riyadh will host in a few days. He stated to Israel Army Radio on Sunday, "I commend the participation of the delegation. Ultimately, we want to reach a state of full relations with Saudi Arabia in terms of cooperation on economic, intelligence, tourism, air travel, and more. I believe this will happen sooner or later."
The Israel Football Association, which manages the delegation’s affairs at the championship, noted that the Israeli team's participation came after Riyadh agreed to allow the participation of all delegations without any explicit arrangement between the Saudi and Israeli governments.
