Saudi Arabia said Wednesday it would not establish diplomatic ties with Israel until the latter reaches a peace accord with the Palestinians.Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan told reporters on a visit to Berlin that “peace must be achieved with the Palestinians” on the basis of international agreements as a condition for any normalisation of relations with Israel.
“Once that is achieved all things are possible,” he said.
Local officials in Saudi Arabia, the Arab world’s biggest economy, have hinted that Riyadh is unlikely to normalise relations with Israel.
At a news conference with his German counterpart Heiko Maas, Prince Faisal reiterated criticism of Israel’s “unilateral policies” of annexation and building settlements in the West Bank as “illegitimate” and “detrimental” to a two-state solution.
Prince Faisal noted that Saudi Arabia had sponsored 2002 Arab peace initiatives holding out the prospect of a normalisation of ties with Israel but said Riyadh now saw no road to diplomatic relations without a Palestinian peace deal.
Source: Reuters
