CAIRO (Reuters) – King Salman of Saudi Arabia told U.S. President Donald Trump Sunday in a phone call that the kingdom is eager to succeed in a just and permanent solution to the Palestinian problem, which he said is the main starting point for the kingdom’s Arab project.Peace Initiative, the state news firm reported.
The leaders spoke on the phone following a historic agreement negotiated through the United States last month under which the United Arab Emirates agreed with the third Arab state to normalize relations with Israel after Egypt and Jordan.
King Salman told Trump that he appreciated America’s peace efforts and that Saudi Arabia sought to see a just and permanent solution to the Palestinian challenge based on the kingdom’s 2002 Arab Peace Initiative.
As a component of this proposal, the Arab nations presented Israel with standardized ties in exchange for a state agreement with the Palestinians and Israel’s general withdrawal from the territory captured the 1967 Middle East war.
Saudi Arabia, the cradle of Islam and its greatest sacred shrines, does not recognize Israel.
However, this month, the kingdom said it would allow flights between the United Arab Emirates and Israel, as well as via Israeli aircraft, to use its airspace.
Trump’s White House adviser and son-in-law, Jared Kushner, said he hoped the Arab country would normalize relations in a few months.
No other Arab state has said it plans to stay in the United Arab Emirates.
King Salman’s son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and Kushner discussed a desire by Palestinians and Israelis to resume negotiations and achieve lasting peace after Kushner in the United Arab Emirates last month.
The agreement between the United Arab Emirates and Israel met through overwhelming Palestinian opposition (this story corrects to say that a just and permanent solution to the Palestinian challenge is the main starting point of the Arab Peace Initiative, which is not based on the Initiative)
(Reporting through Alaa Swilam, written through Alexander Cornwell; edited through Peter Cooney and Richard Pullin)
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