White House says US, Saudi Arabia are close to reaching defense deal

[New Sancai Compilation First Release] The White House stated on May 20 that the United States and Saudi Arabia are close to reaching a final agreement on a bilateral defense agreement after the U.S. National Security Advisor made significant progress in negotiations with Saudi Arabia over the weekend.

White House national security spokesman John Kirby said the two sides were "closer than ever" on a bilateral agreement, which was now "close to finalization."

U.S. and Saudi negotiators are seeking to finalize a bilateral agreement that is expected to require the United States to formally pledge to defend the kingdom and allow Saudi Arabia to obtain more advanced U.S. weapons in exchange for halting Chinese arms purchases and limiting Beijing’s investments in the country.

A U.S. official said negotiators have been discussing the sale of F-35 fighter jets and other weapons to Saudi Arabia as part of a deal.

The sale of the F-35 to Saudi Arabia is not guaranteed for a number of reasons, but including it in the discussion is significant because Riyadh has been eager to acquire the stealth fighter for years.

Any deal must satisfy a long-standing agreement with Israel that U.S. arms sales in the region must not compromise Israel's "quality of military advantage" and guarantee that U.S. weapons supplied to Israel "outperform those sold to its neighbors."

Lockheed Martin, the manufacturer of the plane, submitted a request for comment to the government.

However, U.S. officials said the defense agreement would lack a NATO-style agreement.

Kirby said progress had been made during weekend talks between White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and other Saudi officials. "We are very close to consensus on the major issues between us," another U.S. official said.

"We certainly also have to deal with issues related to Israel and Palestine, which is a key component of any potential normalization deal," the official said.

The U.S. security deal with Saudi Arabia is also expected to involve sharing emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, with Riyadh.

Once completed, it will form part of a broader deal to be presented to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to decide whether to make concessions to secure a deal to normalize relations with Saudi Arabia.

However, Kirby said the timing of an agreement between the United States and Saudi Arabia was unclear.

(Compiled by: Wang Jimin)

(Editor: Jiang Qiming)

(Source of the article: Compiled and published by New Sancai)