On Sunday, Reuters noted that Saudi Arabia’s crown prince is expected in Washington next week. This comes after Syria’s Ahmed al-Sharaa arrived in Washington on the same day.
These are important meetings for US President Donald Trump and other officials in the US. It comes as the US is also continuing to be in the midst of a government shutdown, with a lot of focus on talks in Congress and also on other impacts of the shutdown.
Foreign policy is where Trump has been able to get wins because he can guide the policy personally. “US President Donald Trump has been talking up the prospects of Saudi Arabia agreeing to normalize ties with Israel, but it is unlikely to happen when Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman visits the White House this month,” Reuters noted.
However, most reports indicate that Riyadh won’t move forward with normalization without getting things in return. It wants to see movement toward a Palestinian state and peace.
Reports from the West Bank of frequent attacks on Palestinians by Israelis are not welcome in Saudi Arabia. Riyadh and the media in Saudi Arabia often focus on the suffering of Palestinians. Saudi Arabia doesn’t seem to see any positive moves from Jerusalem so far.
In fact, it can read how Israeli officials talk about Riyadh. One Israeli minister recently mocked the Saudis for riding camels. This doesn’t help normalization.
However, Saudi Arabia is also aware that Israel is more than the sum of its current leadership. Saudi Arabia has a long-term view. In fact, it has been offering peace for more than 20 years, dating back to the Arab Peace Initiative during the Second Intifada. As such, Riyadh has a long history of statecraft in this respect, and also certain things it wants.
Normalization 'almost impossible,' says foreign policy expert
Israel Hayom quoted a Saudi expert as saying that normalization was unlikely at the moment. Dr. Aziz Alghashian said, “I think right now it’s almost impossible... First of all, [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu has made relations with Israel and his government too toxic. Saudi public opinion has a very negative perception regarding normalization, and in effect, Saudi Arabia is distancing itself from normalization. Second, the things Saudi Arabia wants from the US are achievable in stages. It can achieve a defense alliance because that doesn’t require congressional approval.”
This effort to downplay expectations is important. However, there are many other issues to discuss. One issue is how the Syria meetings in Washington may play out. Will this reduce Israel-Syria tensions? In addition, there are the Israeli strikes on Lebanon and those tensions as well. Riyadh also has things it wants from the US.
As such, the talk of normalization is one thing that can go on for a while with slow progress. The ceasefire in Gaza certainly helps things.