Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman revealed in an interview Wednesday with Fox News Channel that Saudi Arabia is getting closer every day to establishing peace relations with Israel, stressing at the same time the centrality of the Palestinian issue and facilitating the lives of Palestinians.

 

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Edited by| Paul Mitchel

 

Politic section -  CJ journalist

 

Middle East – September,21,2023

 

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The Saudi crown prince confirmed that the Biden administration is leading negotiations on the establishment of diplomatic relations between Riyadh and Tel Aviv, denying recent reports about the suspension of negotiations.

Riyadh stipulates for the establishment of diplomatic relations with Israel the signing of a joint defense treaty with Washington, obtaining nuclear assistance, allowing the sale of the latest US military technologies, in addition to providing concrete guarantees to the Palestinians of their Statehood.

The "New York Times" reported this week that the Biden administration intends to strengthen defense cooperation with Saudi Arabia by concluding a joint defense agreement similar to the agreements concluded with Japan and South Korea.

Asked if he was ready to conclude an agreement with Israel under the government of Benjamin Netanyahu, the Saudi crown prince said, "We do not interfere in internal affairs," and if the Biden administration succeeds in negotiations on establishing relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel, it will be the most important agreement since the end of the Cold War, stressing that any agreement must "meet the demands of the Palestinians and make the region calmer.

The Saudi crown prince commented in his interview with" Fox News " that if there is a breakthrough in the negotiations aimed at normalization with Israel, he is ready to work with anyone who leads it.

In an interview with Fox News, Prince Mohammed bin Salman said that any nuclear arms race in the region will not only threaten its security, but it is a threat to the security of the world, and stressed that the balance of power in the region requires it to obtain a nuclear weapon whenever Iran obtains it, warning that the world cannot tolerate a "new Hiroshima".

"Any country that uses nuclear weapons will be at war with all the countries of the world,"he added.

In response to a question about the possibility of Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon, the Saudi crown prince warned that if Iran acquires an atomic weapon, Saudi Arabia will find itself forced to do the same.

The Saudi crown prince said: "We are concerned about the possibility of a country acquiring a nuclear weapon . This is bad."

He added that the Iranians "don't need to get a nuclear weapon because they can't use it", but "if they get this weapon, we should get it too".

On China's mediation between Saudi Arabia and Iran, Prince Mohammed bin Salman said, "We did not choose Beijing, but it was she who chose to mediate between us and the Iranians," stressing that he has a strong relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping and they talk constantly.

"No one wants to see China weak, if China collapses, the whole world is at risk of collapse, including America,"he said.

Months after the end of the break between Riyadh and Tehran, the Saudi crown prince stressed that "the relationship with Iran is progressing well and we hope that it will continue in the interest of the security and stability of the region," stressing his aspiration for the region and all its countries to enjoy security and stability to develop and progress economically.

The Saudi crown prince stressed that the "BRICS" group does not represent any kind of geopolitical competition for America and the West.

Saudi and Houthi officials described their five-day talks in Riyadh as" serious and positive", expressing optimism that a roadmap can be reached to put the Yemen war on the path to a solution.

The Saudi foreign ministry said in a statement on Wednesday that it welcomes "the positive results of serious discussions on reaching a road map to support the path of peace in Yemen".

In this regard, Fox News Channel anchor Bret Baier asked about the Crown Prince's opinion about the talks with the Houthis, and in this context, the Saudi crown prince stressed in his answer to Fox News that "it's time to seek an end to the conflict in Yemen".

He explained in his speech that the goal from the first day is to provide a good life for Yemenis, a good life for the countries of the entire region, and to achieve stability and economic development in them.

The Saudi crown prince said in the interview, "you don't want to see the problems in Yemen, and you need Iraq to really move forward, you also need to see Iran really move forward, you need to see the rest of the region moving forward, and we are working with the Gulf Cooperation Council, with Egypt and other countries in the region, as well as with international players and with our American allies, to achieve this, because it's good for the rest of the world, because when the region is troubled, ISIS appears, al-Qaeda appears, and terrorist attacks and piracy incidents occur, so you don't want to see these events, but you want to see opportunities for American companies, European companies, and the rest of the world the world, and for further growth in a place that has been creating problems for decades The last few".

On Prince Mohammed bin Salman's relationship with US President Joe Biden, the Saudi crown prince stressed that "relations with America are complicated, but he has a good relationship with Biden".

"Today we have a wonderful joint work with President Biden, and we are working in the large network that we are building the "Economic Corridor" between India, Saudi Arabia and Europe, " he said. We are working on a peace agreement with Israel and Palestine. We have the longest ceasefire in Yemen, and there is a lot of good progress to find a political solution there. We have a lot of work, security and stability in the region and also beyond in Ukraine.

"We have a wonderful joint work in the field of technology, investment in sixth-generation networks, the American space industry and many areas, so the agenda between Saudi Arabia and America today is really interesting and we really have an amazing relationship with President Biden,"the crown prince said.

On the transformation that Saudi Arabia is experiencing, the Saudi crown prince said that the goal is to achieve the best and turn challenges into opportunities, noting that "Vision 2030 has achieved its goals faster and we are working on new targets with greater ambition".

Prince Mohammed bin Salman pointed out that his country has achieved the fastest GDP growth among the G20 for two consecutive years, and India competes in terms of growth speed, stressing that Saudi Arabia is on the right economic track today.

Prince Mohammed bin Salman pointed out that"work is underway to accomplish some things, which we are looking forward to completing in the first half of 2024, and then we must move on to implementing and preparing for Vision 2040, and announcing it in 2027 or 2028, this is the main thing we are focusing on".

The Saudi crown prince considered the Economic Corridor announced in New Delhi this month important for connecting the Middle East, Europe and India, and pointed out that the link between India and Europe will shorten the economic movement from three to six days, stressing the centrality of the logistics sector and the need for cooperation with the countries of the world to develop it.

Prince Mohammed bin Salman stressed that"the Saudi people believe in change, and they are the ones who pay for it, and I am one of them".

"Saudi Arabia is the greatest success story of the 21st century,"he told those who were reluctant to visit the kingdom.

"The pace of our progress will continue at a higher speed and will not stop or subside for one day,"he added.

"We are doing a job befitting the status of the Two Holy Mosques and Islamic holy sites," he said, pointing out that he is focusing his time to pursue what serves the interests of Saudi Arabia and its people.

The Saudi crown prince said that decisions to reduce oil production do not support any party at the expense of the other.

"We only monitor supply and demand, so if there is a shortage of supply, our role in OPEC+ is to fill this shortage . If there is an oversupply, our role in OPEC+ is to adjust this for the sake of market stability,"he said.

Responding to accusations of sports laundering in Saudi Arabia, Prince Mohammed bin Salman said that investing in sports will add one percent to GDP, so the country will continue with its plans.

He added that the planned merger of the series " El.Aye.In "golf and the professional league" it will be a "change" for the sport of golf.

He pointed out that tourism investment has also raised the sector's contribution to the GDP from three to seven percent, pointing out that Saudi Arabia has attracted 40 million visits and targets from 100 to 150 million by 2030.

Prince Mohammed bin Salman stressed that all those involved in the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi were punished and prosecuted, pointing out that the country has adopted reforms to not repeat this kind of mistakes again.

"We are working on legal reforms, but we cannot dictate sentences to the judiciary," the Saudi crown prince said, responding to a question about the death sentence issued against a man who criticized the kingdom on social media, he replied that he hopes that the next judge hearing the case will see things differently.

 

 

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