US President Donald Trump is set to host Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) for an official working meeting on November 18, marking his second visit to Washington DC in seven years.
The two leaders' discussion comes as the US president pushes countries to join the Abraham Accords, a series of normalization deals between Israel and several Arab nations.
According to White House officials, there are discussions about signing a deal during MBS's visit, but details remain uncertain. The Financial Times had previously reported that Saudi Arabia and the US could sign a defense agreement during his trip, highlighting the strong relations between the two countries in the defense sector.
In 2020, Trump brokered normalization deals with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco to establish ties with Israel. However, Saudi Arabia has been more cautious, insisting that any normalization of ties with Israel depends on a clear path for the creation of a Palestinian state.
Trump expressed confidence in Saudi Arabia's eventual participation in the Abraham Accords during an interview broadcast on Sunday, stating that he believed MBS would ultimately join the agreement.
MBS's first visit to the US took place during Trump's first term as president in 2017, which culminated in a multibillion-dollar arms deal with Riyadh.
The November 18 meeting is seen as significant, given the complexities surrounding Middle East politics and the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict.
The two leaders' discussion comes as the US president pushes countries to join the Abraham Accords, a series of normalization deals between Israel and several Arab nations.
According to White House officials, there are discussions about signing a deal during MBS's visit, but details remain uncertain. The Financial Times had previously reported that Saudi Arabia and the US could sign a defense agreement during his trip, highlighting the strong relations between the two countries in the defense sector.
In 2020, Trump brokered normalization deals with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco to establish ties with Israel. However, Saudi Arabia has been more cautious, insisting that any normalization of ties with Israel depends on a clear path for the creation of a Palestinian state.
Trump expressed confidence in Saudi Arabia's eventual participation in the Abraham Accords during an interview broadcast on Sunday, stating that he believed MBS would ultimately join the agreement.
MBS's first visit to the US took place during Trump's first term as president in 2017, which culminated in a multibillion-dollar arms deal with Riyadh.
The November 18 meeting is seen as significant, given the complexities surrounding Middle East politics and the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict.
. what's in it for us tho? just more defense agreements that'll probably be used against us if we get involved in another mideast war... not convinced about this deal at all 
.
. I mean, Saudi Arabia has been pretty clear that any deal with Israel needs a Palestinian state, which sounds fair, right? But Trump is confident that MBS will join the Abraham Accords, which makes me wonder if there's more to it than meets the eye 
.
The whole thing just feels like a big deal for US-Saudi relations and it's interesting to see where this meeting goes from here 
I mean, Trump really believed he could pull off those Abraham Accords deals like they were going out of style 
. I mean, I get that the US wants to strengthen ties with Saudi Arabia, but come on, have they even figured out what's going on in Yemen yet? 
Still, I guess it's good that Trump is trying to broker some kinda peace deal... or at least, try to 
. The thing is, I'm not buying the whole "we're gonna make Israel great again" vibe 
. It just seems like more of the same old, same old – politics as usual 
. And don't even get me started on the whole Palestine thing... it's a mess 
